Ahmed Akbar Sobhan , is a Bangladeshi business magnate. He is the chairman of the business conglomerate Bashundhara Group. He founded Bashundhara Group, which is operating in various lines of activities including real estate, cement manufacturing, paper and allied products, steel products, LP Gas, Shopping Complex, local and international trading.
Business career
In 1978, Sobhan started the East West Property Development Ltd., now known as Bashundhara Housing. He currently leads group of enterprises consisting of nearly three dozen medium to large ventures steel and engineering, paper, tissue, cement, LP Gas, sanitary napkin, multi-paper, dredging, shipping, food and beverage, galvanised iron pipe, etc. He has an estimated wealth of about 50,000 crore BDT.
Social activities
Sobhan endorsed different development tasks for the group under the coverage of corporate social responsibility. His social responsibilities often transcends borders. He is also actively associated with various socio cultural and humanitarian activities for the development of the society as well as of the common people.
Sobhan is married to Afroza Begum with whom he has 4 sons. His sons are Sadat Sobhan, Shafiat Sobhan, Sayem Sobhan, and Safwan Sobhan. He has numerous grandsons and granddaughters.
Controversy
Sabbir Murder Case
Sobhan and his family have been at the center of many controversies. In 2008, the Criminal Investigation Department of Bangladesh pressed murder charges against Sobhan's second son Shafiat Sobhan for killing Humayun Kabir Sabbir in July 2006. Sabbir was a director of Bashundhara Telecommunications Network Ltd. and his body was found in the outskirts of Bashundhara Residential Area. The case was presented in court with 35 witnesses, including two sex workers who were eyewitnesses. The two eyewitnesses narrated how the murder took place. The proceedings took place 2 years after the murder incident because Ahmed Akbar Sobhan paid Tk. 21 crore to the then Bangladeshi Home Minister Lutfozzaman Babar to suppress the case and help his son Sanvir flee abroad. A CID investigation in 2007 brought this into limelight along with the fact that the BNP senior vice-chairman Tarique Rahman also received money in exchange for helping Sanvir flee. It is alleged that Tarique demanded Tk. 100 crore in order to help with this case. Sanvir and all the other accused in this case were later acquitted in 2011 by a lower court.
Tax Evasion and Illegal Wealth
In October 2007, Ahmed Akbar Sobhan, his wife Afroza Begum, and their 4 sons were sentenced to 8 years of imprisonment on charges of tax evasion. During the 2006–08 Bangladeshi political crisis, Sobhan handed over the power of attorney for Bashundhara Group to a nine-member committee while he was absconding in London with his family. During the tenure of this committee, the Bashundhara Group paid more than Tk. 220 crore to the government as compensation for evading earlier taxes. This move was taken despite Sobhan's opposition and he retaliated by withdrawing the power of attorney for 4 officials of the nine-member committee. Another charge was that Sobhan and his family amassed wealth worth about Tk. 107 crore beyond their known sources of income and amassed Tk. 606.66 crore illegally while also concealing information about Tk. 14.17 crore. The charge sheet for the case mentioned that around Tk. 500 crore was whitened by the family. In December 2012, a case was filed against Sobhan, his son Sanvir, and 2 company officials for misappropriating nearly Tk. 40 crore from a businessman. The plaintiff filed the case claiming that he was owed 3 plots from the East WestProperty Development Ltd. The 4 accused were later acquitted of the charges.
