Sabur Khan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees at the private Daffodil International University (DIU), is known in name as a "bearer of light"—but in practice, he is more widely recognised as an "education businessman" masked behind the image of an entrepreneur.

His rare skill of "managing everyone" is considered the secret behind his immense wealth and profit-making empire.

Many say Sabur Khan’s "magic lamp" has taught him how to use the funds of a non-profit institution to set up one venture after another, securing the future of his family and himself. He has reportedly turned corruption and irregularities into an art form—misleading the government and regulatory bodies.

These findings are based on information from Daffodil University, UGC sources, interviews, and independent investigations.

According to the Private University Act 2010, private universities must be run as non-profit institutions. Trustees are to contribute funds but may not take a single taka in return. However, leveraging the influence of the now-ousted Awami League government, Sabur Khan paid no heed to such rules. Numerous allegations exist against him regarding the diversion of DIU’s funds, which he controls.

As chairman of the DIU Board of Trustees, Sabur Khan was also a member of the Association of Private Universities of Bangladesh (APUB) when Sheikh Kabir Hossain, a relative of Sheikh Hasina, served as its chairman.

During the July-August crackdown on students and citizens by the previous Awami League government, he stayed silent. But following the public uprising on 5 August, which forced Sheikh Kabir to flee, Sabur Khan swiftly took over the APUB chairmanship—reinforcing his dominance in the education and ICT sectors.

Insiders say Sabur Khan had cosy ties with at least a dozen ministers and state ministers from the previous government and was often described as having the blessings of Sajeeb Wazed Joy. He was present at multiple events with Sheikh Hasina and is known to be close to Obaidul Quader, AHM Mustafa Kamal, Anisul Huq, Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh, and, more importantly, to former Education Minister Dipu Moni, Deputy Minister Mohibul Hasan Chowdhury Nowfel, and ICT State Minister Zunaid Ahmed Palak.

With their support, he built monopolies in the education and ICT sectors—particularly in tested software, medical software, pharmacy management systems, and ERP software. His company has even faced allegations of supplying pirated software. In many ICT and education-related tenders, his firms often had no rivals.

Reports claim that Sabur Khan has acquired multiple properties in Malaysia and secured second-home citizenship there. He has also bought property in the United States, where he owns businesses. Daffodil University is facing allegations of tax evasion amounting to Tk200 crore.

According to sources, each semester brings in more than Tk100 crore in revenue. A large portion of this is allegedly laundered abroad by Sabur Khan. In an effort to facilitate this money laundering, he has initiated plans to open a branch of DIU in Dubai. Recently, advertisements for student enrolment have been published for a new campus in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, where he has also invested in other businesses.

Sabur Khan began his business journey from 101/A, Green Road, Dhaka, where Daffodil Computers was founded. By 1998–99, he had started importing computers of various brands. From hardware, he later expanded his influence into software through manipulative means.

It is reported that in 2002, under the BNP regime, he secured university approval jointly with Shahreen Islam Chowdhury Tuhin, a powerful BNP leader. However, after the 1/11 political shift, Sabur cut all ties with BNP and ousted Tuhin from the trustee board. He swiftly restructured the board and had it approved by UGC, thereby gaining absolute control over the university.

As private universities are non-profit institutions, Sabur Khan created a scheme called the "Daffodil Family" to build an ecosystem of related businesses. Like a corporate group, this family includes entities such as DCL, Oval Furniture, Creative International, Sabuj Printers, DOL, Bangladesh Venture Capital Ltd., Skill Jobs, Green Garden, and Daffodil Education Network.

Sources claim that DIU never calls open tenders for procurement. On paper, tenders are submitted, but contracts are always awarded to companies within the Daffodil Family. This allows overpriced products and services to be billed to the university, siphoning off students' tuition money.

Each DIU student receives a laptop—but this is allegedly supplied by DCL (Daffodil Computers Ltd.), another paper company owned by Sabur Khan. These laptops, assembled from cheap Chinese parts costing around Tk10,000–15,000, are sold to helpless students for Tk70,000–80,000.

Further, all university furniture and interior work are handled by Oval Furniture, printing by Sabuj Printers, internet services by DCL, and catering for events by Green Garden—all of which are name-only entities under Sabur Khan’s control.

Undisclosed income is reportedly being laundered through various entities under the Daffodil group, and university funds are allegedly being embezzled by inflating expenses.

Under the banner of “Skill Jobs,” money from the university is transferred to other companies owned by the Daffodil family under the pretext of conducting recruitment activities on campus.

On the other hand, dormitories are operated by “Creative International,” which has been accused of embezzling student accommodation fees.

There are also serious allegations of stock manipulation involving Daffodil Computers, a publicly listed IT company. Due to share market irregularities, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has fined three individuals Tk600,000.

Currently, Daffodil International University is run by an 11-member Board of Trustees. The board is chaired by Sabur Khan himself. His wife Sahana Khan serves as vice-chairman, while his daughter Samiha Khan, sister Rowshan Ara Begum, and brother-in-law Md Imran Hossain are also board members. In this family-run institution, no one dares to question Sabur Khan’s decisions.

According to sources, under University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines, a maximum of 50 students may be admitted per section in lab-based courses. However, in Daffodil, over a thousand students are reportedly enrolled in the CSE programme alone each semester. It is alleged that this entire system is structured to underreport tuition income and evade taxes. Of the total number of enrolled students, only about one-third are officially reported to the UGC or the Ministry.

Sources further state that the land on which the university campus in Ashulia is built once belonged to the Bhawal royal family and was later designated as forest department land by the Government of Bangladesh. The land in Dattapara area of Ashulia had long remained abandoned. After 2013, the university gradually occupied these government lands and built a massive campus, including academic buildings and scenic structures, much of which stands on forest department property.

Allegations also surfaced that Sabur Khan invested university funds to buy a substantial amount of shares in a pharmaceutical company under the names of himself, his wife, and daughter. Around 57.6% of the company’s shares, worth Tk19.12 crore, were transferred in their names—allegedly using money withdrawn directly from Daffodil International University’s institutional bank account.

Multiple attempts to reach Sabur Khan on his personal mobile phone around 5:45 pm on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

However, when contacted, Md Anwar Habib Kajal, Senior Assistant Director of Public Relations at Daffodil University, said he was out of Dhaka and could not comment on the matter at this time.

However, a previously issued written statement from the university, provided to another media outlet, claimed that a vindictive group driven by vested interests has long been envious of Daffodil’s continued success and has been spreading propaganda related to land grabbing.

The statement did not address the allegations of money laundering, foreign investments, or turning the university into a family-run entity. At the end of the written statement sent by Anwar Habib Kajal, it was said that if anyone has questions, all relevant documents and evidence are preserved by the university, and interested parties are welcome to visit and examine them in person.