Aziz Mohammad Bhai

Aziz Mohammad Bhai (b. 1948) is a Bangladeshi industrialist and murder convict. He is the chairman of Olympic Industries PLC, the largest biscuit manufacturer of Bangladesh. He is currently absconding and lives in Bangkok.

Early life Aziz Mohammad Bhai was born in Armanitola, Dhaka, in 1948 to Mohammad Bhai (d. 2018) and Khatija Mohammad Bhai. The family belong to the Nizari Ismaili community. They migrated from Kanpur to East Pakistan during the partition of India in 1947. Aziz graduated from the University of Dhaka. Aziz is a life member of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the serving chairman of his family's flagship company, Olympic Industries PLC. Along with his businesses in Bangladesh, Aziz also has numerous hotel and resort businesses spread throughout Thailand, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Pakistan. Ambee Films Ltd. Ambee Ltd. (Aziz’s personal holding company, owner of 3.29% of Olympic) ATV (a defunct television channel shut down after allegations of espionage) Leather Industries of Bangladesh Ltd. Jessore Jute Industries Ltd. RMB Fisheries Ltd. (founded by Aziz's brother Raja M. Bhai) Quantum Electronics (dealer for Panasonic products) Manticore Technology Ltd. Manticore Engineering Ltd. The company was founded as Bengal Carbide Ltd. in 1979 as a battery manufacturer by Mohammad Bhai and his brother, Mubarak Ali (d. 2023). The company changed its name to its current form in 1996 when they entered the food processing industry. The Bhai family owns over 40% of Olympic. Aziz became the chairman of Olympic in 2023, succeeding his father and uncle as head of the company.

Ambee Films Ltd. Ambee Films Ltd. is a defunct film production company owned by Aziz. The company produced around 50 films during its days of operation, including Chandni Raatey (directed by Ehtesham), the debut film of actress Shabnur. Through Ambee Films, Aziz brought numerous Indian film stars to Bangladesh including Rekha, Mamta Kulkarni, Moon Moon Sen, and Prosenjit.

Wealth The Bhai family is considered one of the oldest and richest industrial families in Bangladesh, having their business date back to the 1947 partition. Aziz's personal net worth has increased since 2023 as he has been on a share purchasing spree, buying more than BDT 2 billion worth of Olympic's shares from the stock market. This consolidated Aziz’s personal holding in the company to approximately 25%, amounting to almost BDT 8 billion. Aziz is also the owner of 60% of Ambee Pharmaceuticals Ltd., a publicly listed company with a market capitalisation of BDT 1.8 billion.

According to the Suisse Secrets, Aziz and his family members had 12 bank accounts in Swiss banks. The total amount deposited in all the accounts was 53 million Swiss francs (~BDT 8 billion). Along with Aziz, the family of his sister, Sakina Miraly, had 43 million Swiss francs (~BDT 6.5 billion) in 9 bank accounts, and his uncle, Mubarak Ali, had 10 million Swiss francs (~BDT 1.5 billion).

This consolidates Aziz's recorded personal wealth to more than BDT 17 billion. However, the figure may be higher because it does not take into account private investments and real estate holdings (like the hotel and resort businesses).

Controversies

First arrest Aziz was first arrested during the tenure of president Hussain Muhammad Ershad. He was later released after Prince Karim, Aga Khan IV, the 49th Imam of the Nizari community, came to Bangladesh and personally pushed for his release. The reason for the arrest is reported to have revolved around Mary Badruddin, who is said to have been a secret wife of president Ershad. After Aziz attempted to get close with Mary, president Ershad had him arrested.

Murder charges Actor Sohel Chowdhury was killed on 18 December 1998 in front of Banani's Trumps Club, a nightclub co-owned by Aziz. On 30 July 1999, the Detective Branch of police pressed charges against Aziz along with the club's co-owners, Ashish Roy Chowdhury (Bottle Chowdhury) and Bunty Islam. The other suspects were underworld gangsters Sanjidul Islam Emon and Harun-ur-Rashid (Leather Liton) along with four others.

In April 2022, the erstwhile spokesperson of the Rapid Action Battalion, Khandaker Al Moin, stated in a press briefing that after this encounter, Aziz asked Bunty and Ashish Roy to "deal with Sohel". As the nightclub was frequented by underworld members Sanjidul Islam Emon, Leather Liton, and Tariq Sayeed Mamun (shot to death beside DMCH in November 2025), they also wanted to eliminate Sohel in order to protect their meeting place. Immediately after the shooting, Bunty Islam was arrested by the Detective Branch in January 1999. The proceedings of the trial were paused between 2004 and 2022 after one of the accused, Adnan Siddiqui, filed for a stay order. In 2022, the order was revoked.

Ashish Roy (Bottle Chowdhury) was arrested on 5 April 2022. He admitted under interrogation that Aziz ordered the hit on Sohel after Sohel and the Banani central mosque's committee attempted to shut the club down. On 9 May 2024, the High Court sentenced Aziz, Bunty Islam, and Adnan Siddiqui to life imprisonment. Ashish Roy Chowdhury, Tariq Sayeed Mamun, Faruk Abbasi, Sanjidul Islam Emon, Selim Khan, and Harun-ur-Rashid (Leather Liton) were acquitted. Bunty Islam and Adnan Siddiqui are currently absconding in Canada. Inspector Nakib Zaman (the court inspector of the case) stated that "beautiful women" were used by Aziz to gather top-secret government intelligence and smuggle them out of the country in the form of TV show recordings. The former attorney general of Bangladesh K. S. Nabi represented Aziz as his legal counsel in this case.

He was booked under charges of espionage and conspiracy to overthrow the erstwhile government of Sheikh Hasina.

Narcotics cases In 2007, the Rapid Action Battalion seized 130,000 yaba pills along with raw materials to make yaba from the Bhai family residence in Gulshan. Aziz's nephew, Amin Hudda, was arrested and Aziz was probed in this case. This incident remains the largest drug seizure in Bangladeshi history.

In October 2019, the Department of Narcotics Control raided the Gulshan residence of the Bhai family again. They seized liquor bottles, poker chips, hookahs, and other casino equipment at the rooftop casino and bar of the residence. The department found 382 bottles of foreign alcohol, 200 grams of cannabis, and 24 cans of beer. Bhai's nephew, Ahad M. Bhai, was reported to be the owner of the bar in a confession given by the residence's caretaker. However, the Department of Narcotics Control filed 2 cases against Ahad's brother, Omar M. Bhai, instead of him. Omar denied on social media that he had any relation with the equipment found during the raid and claimed that these cases were being instigated by his aunt due to an internal family feud.

1996 stock market crash In 1999, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission filed cases against Olympic Industries PLC, Aziz, and his father Mohammad Bhai. They were accused of being involved in the 1996 Bangladesh stock market scam. Aziz and his father were reported to have extracted tens of millions of taka from the market by artificially inflating stock prices. A special tribunal on the capital markets issued an arrest warrant against Aziz in the case in August 2018.

Personal life

Family Aziz was first married to an European woman with whom he has 1 daughter. After his divorce with her, Aziz married Naureen, daughter of his close friend Anwarul Islam Bobby (d. 1994). Bobby was one of the pioneers of the English press in Bangladesh, being the founder of many newspapers including The Daily Life and The Daily Morning Sun. Naureen has been running Aziz's businesses in his absence. She is the proprietor of Progoti Printing and Packaging and The Daily Morning Sun. Aziz's cousin, Munir Ali (son of his uncle Mubarak Ali), also sits on the board. His younger sister's son, Samad Miraly, is the executive director of Olympic.

Public persona and mystique Due to numerous criminal charges, connections with gangster figures, flamboyant lifestyle, friendships and feuds with some of Bangladesh's most powerful people, Aziz is regarded as a mafia don by many people. This is partly due to his surname. Bhai, literally meaning 'brother' in Bangla, is also used as a suffix to the names of those involved in mafia activities. This led to speculation that Aziz's surname may have come due to his connections with the underworld. However, this is untrue, as Bhai is the family's surname also used by female members of the family despite the word's masculine meaning in Bangla. Aziz is also rumoured to be connected with D-Company chief Dawood Ibrahim.