Chuti Resort selling 65-bigha project buying just 4 bighas of land
In Inani, Cox’s Bazar, the Chuti Group is selling shares of a project on 65 bighas of land with the promise of building a five-star hotel and luxury villas. Customers are told that by purchasing shares in the ‘Chuti Beach Resort’ project, they will receive guaranteed monthly profits. However, in reality, the company owns only 3.72 bighas of land there.
Another company that split from the main Chuti Group, ‘Chuti Cox’s Bazar Limited’, is also selling shares for a project called ‘Chuti Resort Cox’s Bazar’ located beside the Marine Drive road in Teknaf.
They claim to build a hotel on 7.65 bighas of land, but in reality, they have only 4.16 bighas of land.
To attract potential customers, the company is heavily using social media advertising. These ads promise lifetime ownership upon purchasing shares, guaranteed monthly returns, and free annual stays on specific days of the year.
However, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has not approved this investment scheme, and the company has not shown any IPO approval. In this way, they are selling hotel rooms and resort shares to many investors.
Regarding this, Supreme Court lawyer Barrister Shahnewaz Karim told Asia Post that the trend of collecting money from the public without approval under the guise of hotel-resort or similar projects is increasing at an alarming rate in the country. This sector operates outside existing real estate laws and is practically unregulated.
Even without being a public limited company, such organizations are collecting investments through attractive marketing, often without legal ownership of land or proper legal basis.
He further said that this is essentially a well-planned MLM-style real estate fraud, where more emphasis is placed on attracting new customers than on actual project implementation. If these are not immediately regulated, investors may face major financial losses and long legal complications in the future.
More projects of the Chuti Group
Chuti Group started operations in 2012. That year, it launched its first project, ‘Chuti Resort, Gazipur’, on 54 bighas of land in Amtoli, Joydebpur, Gazipur. Since then, several other projects have been added one after another.
In 2017, ‘Chuti Resort, Purbachal’ was launched. In 2020, the ‘Chuti Harmony’ project started in Purbachal, Dhaka. In 2023, ‘Sultanat Tea Resort’ was launched in Kamalganj, Srimangal, and ‘Sultanat Highway Village’ on the Dhaka-Khulna highway in Kashiani. In 2024, ‘Chuti Aranyabas Resort’ started in Pubail, Gazipur.
From 2025 onward, share sales began for ‘Chuti Signature’ in Pubail, Gazipur, and ‘Chuti Beach Resort’ in Inani, Cox’s Bazar. In addition, two more projects have been announced: ‘Chuti Forest Eagle Resort’ in Shamshernagar, Moulvibazar, and ‘Chuti Valley’ in Rajabari, Gazipur.
Asking for documents leads to quick booking pressure
While inquiring as a potential customer about shares in the ‘Chuti Beach Resort’ project, several new details emerged. The company claims the project will include a five-star hotel and 27 luxury villas on 65 bighas of land.
Out of 11,000 total shares in the hotel, 5,500 are reserved for the company and the remaining 5,500 are being sold.
For the villas, 3,375 shares are being sold. Each villa share is priced at 10 lakh taka, and each hotel share at taka 6 lakh.
When asked what investors would receive in return, Chuti Group’s Senior Assistant Manager (Sales and Marketing), Tamanna Sharmin Khan, said investors would receive lifetime benefits: two nights and three days of free annual stay. Ownership rights would include 82 square feet from villas and 25 square feet from the hotel under registered deed ownership. Investors would also receive lifetime annual returns of Tk 100,000 to Tk150,000 per share, along with 50% discount at all Chuti resorts.
When asked to show legal documents, representatives encouraged quick booking, citing possible future price increases and 15% discounts for one-time payments.
Land discrepancy
Investigations by Asia Post found that in Inani Mouza under Ukhiya Upazila’s Jalia Palong Union, the land owned in the name of Managing Director Mostafa Kamal is only 1.2283 acres (about 3.72 bighas).
The deed dated January 6 shows the land was purchased through attorney Nure Nazeen Begum on behalf of owner Md. Saifuzzaman. No other land deeds in that mouza could be shown by the company.
The company says it plans to hand over villas by 2028 and the five-star hotel by 2029. However, villa construction is less than 2% complete, and construction of the hotel has not even started. In other words, handover deadlines are being announced even before construction has begun.
Irregularities in approvals
When asked for approval documents, Chuti Group showed a letter dated November 18, 2013, signed by then Cox’s Bazar Development Authority chairman and then Deputy Commissioner Md. Ruhul Amin.
The letter mentions applications by SM Jasim Uddin Chowdhury, Sultan Mahmud Chowdhury, and Abdul Jabbar & others. The approval allows construction of hotels, villas, restaurants, and cafes on about 14 acres (42 bighas).
It mentions a six-story hotel building, but not a five-star hotel. Yet Chuti Group is selling shares in the name of a five-star hotel.
The names of those mentioned in the approval document are not included in the company memorandum of association.
They are not owners or shareholders of the company. When asked, Chuti Group’s Chief Marketing Officer Md. Nazim Uddin Farhad said they are the original landowners, but avoided explaining their actual relationship with the company.
When asked about land discrepancies, he said they would complete a five-star hotel and villa project on 65 bighas and claimed they have already purchased 45 bighas and have agreements for the rest.
However, Tamanna Sharmin Khan said the directors’ names are listed in brochures and websites, and profit-sharing details are not necessarily included there.
Two groups using the same logo
Investigations found that due to financial discrepancies, the Chuti Group has split into two factions. However, both use the same logo, causing confusion among investors.
One group’s board includes Mostafa Mahmud Arifi, Alamgir Ferdous, Mostafa Kamal, and Samsul Islam Masud.
Although they are called co-founders in promotional materials, the trade license for ‘Chuti Resort Limited’ is under Alamgir Ferdous in Gazipur.
The other group is chaired by Muhammad Tariq Mahmud, operating under ‘Chuti Cox’s Bazar Limited’. Their projects include ‘Chuti Resort Gazipur’ (2012), ‘Chuti Resort Purbachal’ (2017), ‘Chuti Resort Cox’s Bazar’ and ‘Chuti Villa Kuakata’ (2022), and ‘Chuti Bay Cox’s Bazar’ (2024).
Both groups claim ownership of ‘Chuti Resort Gazipur’ and ‘Chuti Resort Purbachal’.
When asked whether the group has split, Chuti Cox’s Bazar Limited chairman Muhammad Tariq Mahmud told Asia Post: “We are working in two teams. We are both together and also working separately.”
Chuti Resort Cox’s Bazar
Chuti Cox’s Bazar Limited announced a project called ‘Chuti Resort Cox’s Bazar’ on 7.65 bighas of land, selling 3,500 shares at 7.5 lakh taka each, with a handover target of 2028.
However, investigations show that in Teknaf’s Bordail Mouza, the chairman owns only 4.16 bighas of land.
When asked about this discrepancy, the chairman said he was out of Dhaka and refused to discuss it over the phone, inviting the reporter instead to meet in person at the office.
The managing director could not be reached for comment.
Chuti Beach Resort
Regarding the 65-bigha land claim, Chief Marketing Officer Md. Nazim Uddin Farhad said they have proposed 100 bighas and are negotiating purchases. They currently have 45 bighas and agreements for 20 more.
Managing Director Alamgir Ferdous said they previously worked in Gazipur and Purbachal and later separated from some partners in Cox’s Bazar.
He also said they are a small company and cannot buy such large land at once.
However, Chairman Mostafa Mahmud Arifi denied discrepancies, claiming they actually own more than 65 bighas.
Investors in confusion
Afzal Hossain, who was interested after seeing Facebook ads, said he later discovered conflicting information between the two groups, which made him lose interest in investing.
Experts in the sector believe such unapproved fractional ownership models may turn into MLM-style fraud similar to Destiny. If regulators do not intervene quickly, investors may suffer major financial losses.