The walls are closing in on Mohammed Saiful Alam, often referred to as S Alam, the Bangladesh-born Singaporean businessman who built a sprawling, multi-billion-dollar empire stretching from Chittagong to the Mediterranean — much of it, authorities allege, on a foundation of laundered money, says a report of The Edge Malaysia.
According to the report, in the span of just two weeks in May, a court froze a luxury residential property in Cyprus he owned together with his wife, a Bangladeshi court sentenced him in absentia to five months’ imprisonment, and investigators in Singapore continued probing a business empire that reportedly exceeds US$1 billion in assets in the city state alone.
Now, attention is also turning to two prominent Kuala Lumpur hotels linked to the S Alam Group, of which Alam is the founder and chairman.
Perhaps one of the most visible pieces of Alam’s international portfolio sits at the corner of Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan Ampang in the heart of Kuala Lumpur — the Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel and Convention Centre and the adjoining Four Points by Sheraton Kuala Lumpur City Centre.
Both hotels, which sit on the same land title, are owned by Ventura International Sdn Bhd (formerly Canali Logistics Sdn Bhd), which is reportedly linked to the S Alam Group. In 2016, IGB Bhd, then known as IGB Corp Bhd, sold the original Renaissance Hotel property to Ventura International for RM765 million.
A company search on Ventura International shows that YIF Holding Malaysia Sdn Bhd holds a 100 per cent stake in the company, while a search on the latter company shows that Wong Wai Cheong, Poo Sin Yee and Arivalagan Chokalingam are its directors, and that it is wholly owned by Singapore’s YIF Holding Pte Ltd.
Another search on YIF Holding Pte Ltd lists its primary activity as that of a holding company for firms engaged in non-financial and insurance-related activities, with Hildrics Asia Growth Fund VCC as its shareholder. Choo Kee Siong is listed as its director and is also the CEO, executive director and chief investment officer of Hildrics Capital.
Hildrics Capital’s portfolio includes Malaysia’s rubber compound manufacturer and distributor GIIB Holdings Bhd, in which HAGF Investment (I) Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hildrics Asia Growth Fund 1, previously held a 16.56% stake before disposing of some of its shares and ceasing to be a substantial shareholder, according to filings dated on May 21.
GIIB has been in the news for multiple reasons, including corruption probes, corporate intimidation, legal disputes and financial losses. More recently, Bursa Malaysia queried GIIB after its share price jumped by as much as 50% in a single morning, hitting a more than four-year high on May 4.
In March, Hildrics Asia Growth Fund VCC stepped in as Singapore entertainment company mm2 Asia Ltd’s main rescue investor, signing a term sheet with mm2 Asia to inject new capital via a S$15 million (RM47 million) share placement and a fully underwritten rights issue of up to S$10 million. The deal is still being finalised.
The move came as mm2 Asia — which is involved in content and media production and distribution, and owns Cathay Cineplexes in Malaysia and Singapore — operated under court-approved moratorium orders tied to restructuring under Singapore’s Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act. Cathay ceased operations in both countries last September.
Meanwhile, Ventura International closed the Renaissance Hotel in 2020 for a major renovation. It was reopened in October 2023 as Marriott’s first dual-branded property in Malaysia: the Renaissance in the West Wing and the new Four Points by Sheraton in the East Wing. Both hotels continue to list Ventura International as their owner on Marriott’s official website and social media channels.
There is no indication at this stage that Malaysian authorities have taken action against the hotels or that any freezing order has been applied to the properties. However, given the breadth of the international investigation — spanning Cyprus, Singapore, the British Virgin Islands and Jersey — sources say Malaysian-held assets linked to the group could come under scrutiny as Bangladesh pursues asset recovery across multiple jurisdictions.
The timing adds a striking layer of diplomatic intrigue. Bangladesh’s newly elected Prime Minister Tarique Rahman — who took office following the BNP’s victory in the 13th parliamentary elections — has chosen Malaysia as the destination for his first foreign state visit.
The two-day trip to Kuala Lumpur is scheduled for June 21 and 22, with a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim expected on the second day.