Sarafat started his career in 1999 at Standard Chartered Bank. He was appointed a director of IFIC Bank and left Standard Chartered Bank after questions were raised about his connections to two banks simultaneously. In 2008, Sarafat joined ICB Islamic Bank as the Head of Consumer Banking.[8] On 15 December 2016, Sarafat received his Doctorate in Business Administration from Commonwealth University-London.[9]
Sarafat is the founding chairman of Canadian University of Bangladesh.[12] The university awards Sarafat Chowdhury Merit Scholarship.[13] In October 2021, Benoit Prefontaine, Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh, laid the foundation stone for the permanent campus of Canadian University of Bangladesh in Purbachal in a ceremony presided by Sarafat.[14]
The cartoonist Ahmed Kabir Kishore was arrested under the Digital Security Act for drawing cartoons critical of the government, including one where he portrayed Sarafat as a bank embezzler.[16]
Sarafat owns RACE Portfolio and Issue Management which was one of the issue manager in the aborted attempt to list Best Holdings Limited whose permission was denied by Bangladesh Bank.[17] Another issue manager, the government owned ICB Capital Management, denied any involvement with the company.[18] He is a director of Unique Hotel and Resorts Limited, which owns Westin Dhaka.[19] He and his wife are directors of Race Financial Management Inc. and Can-Ban Chambers House, based in Canada.[20][21] He is a major shareholder of RACE Asset Management.[1] He is a member of the executive committee of Bangladesh Association of Banks.[22] He is the Managing Director of Unique Meghnaghat Power Limited, a subsidiary of Unique group.[23][24]
Personal life
Sarafat is married to Anjuman Ara Shahid.[25] She served as the chairman of Strategic Finance and Investment Limited and later director of Southeast Bank.[25][26]
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