Independent MP AK Azad on Monday (February 12, 2024) demanded a list of those who have laundered money abroad taking loans from banks be placed in Parliament. Azad, who was elected MP for the first time, came up with the demand while participating in the discussion on the thanksgiving motion on the President’s speech. He said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is totally against corruption and Awami League's manifesto also cited that. “First of all, good governance will have to be established in the banking sector,” Azad said. Read more: Bangladesh Bank sets an 11-point roadmap to realise default loans Welcoming Bangladesh Bank's roadmap for reforming the banking sector, Azad, also President of Newspapers Owners Association of Bangladesh (NOAB), said the amount of defaulted loans in Bangladesh is around Tk 1,45,633 crore. “But in reality, the amount is much more. But through write off, the amount of debt is shown less. Those who have taken loans and invested in factories and failed to repay, may be exempted subject to investigation,” he said. He demanded to bring to justice those who did not invest loan money in any business, and instead laundered the money. “They made home at Begum Para, and second homes. Their list should be published in the parliament,” he demanded. Read more: Bank MDs working under increased stress due to default loans, board interference: Experts He also commented that Bangabandhu's dream will not be realised unless they are brought under the law. The independent MP said that those who looted banks are responsible for the rise in commodity prices and inflation. Azad said that he wants to be accountable to the countrymen and voters through this parliament. Azad also said he wants to make the parliament effective and lively through constructive criticism of the government. He expected cooperation of the Speaker in this regard. Read more: Businesses should get opportunities to turn around before wholesale declaration of loan defaulters: FBCCI President

Mahbubul Alam, the new president of the country’s apex trade body, the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), has already written to Bangladesh Bank asking for opportunities for businesses struggling to pay instalments against loans to turn around their fortunes before declaring them as loan defaulters. He also believes heightened inflation is a global issue, rather than unique to Bangladesh, as prices of daily essentials and energy prices have witnessed spikes across the world, including the USA and Europe. Bangladesh is trying to curb inflation, but the global supply chain disruption creates crises on the supply side, which is the cause of the price hike in some cases, he pointed out. Talking to UNB, Mahbubul Alam gave his opinions on different issues including inflation, the dollar crisis, export diversification, and the challenges in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Read: Mahbubul Alam takes charge as FBCCI president Alam was elected as the new president of the FBCCI as a leader of the Sammilito Oikko Parishad, for the 2023-25 tenure. The election was held on July 31 and he took charge as president on August 14. He also serves as President of the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCCI). Beyond his business acumen, Mahbubul Alam has received recognition in the form of CIP (Trade) and CIP (Industry) Awards from the Ministry of Commerce, Bangladesh. He is also a committed philanthropist, contributing to various social causes. Internationally, he is the recipient of a "Certificate of Merit" from the World Customs Organization. Alam said in the present economic reality, suppose an entrepreneur has 12 factories; among them one or two will have fallen into problems, but the other 10 would be running well. In this situation, if the business group was declared as defaulter, the entrepreneur would not run the other factories, and a large number of employees would lose their jobs. Read: Large defaulted loans have distressed domestic economy: Experts He acknowledged that in the last two years, a huge volume of loans went into default as many businessmen are not paying their instalments. The FBCCI president said, the federation (FBCCI) has already written a letter to the Bangladesh Bank (BB) to not declare any company as defaulter without understanding the reality. He suggested running the factories as an option to get a return. He opposed wholesale declaration of loan defaulters rather than giving opportunities to improve. Alam agreed that the businessmen have to return the loan money, otherwise the banks will be in trouble. Regarding the dollar crisis, the FBCCI president emphasised enhancing remittance earnings by sending more skilled human resources abroad, along with the unskilled manpower already being sent. Read more: Banks’ chief executives must bear responsibility to control defaulted loans: BB Governor He also urged the government to develop a system through which remittances could be sent easily to Bangladesh using legal channels from the Middle East and other areas of the world. Alam, the owner of Chattogram-based M/S Alam Trading, also emphasised enhancing the capacity of foreign missions of Bangladesh so that those missions can arrange trade fairs to display different traditions and non-traditional products as part of the export diversification campaign. Regarding SDG achievement, the FBCCI president said the capacity of domestic businesses must increase to compete with global manufacturers in the age of free trade. Alam said, “Despite different types of obstacles and unfavourable environment, the entrepreneurs of Bangladesh have survived and continued running their businesses even during the Covid-19 pandemic period.” Read more: BGMEA delegation meets Investment Board Chairman of Kurdistan regional government to discuss investment opportunities The FBCCI president emphasised massive research and innovation activities involving youths for Bangladeshi companies to cope with the requirements of the 4th Industrial Revolution, However, he doesn’t buy into the hype that Artificial Intelligence or machine learning will affect employment in Bangladesh, as he believes many jobs still exist that require a human hand. The FBCCI president also focused on increasing domestic rearing of chicken, pigeons, cows, and goats which will help to meet a large portion of the consumption demand for eggs, milk, and meat. It is not possible to supply readymade products, eggs, meat, milk, and other essential items to everyone, he said. Some people have to develop self-dependency when it comes to agricultural items, he pointed out. Read more: BGMEA, Erbil chamber of industry intend to collaborate in promoting bilateral trade

The total amount of debt to the top 20 defaulters is Tk 19,283.93 crore while the amount of defaulted loan is Tk 16,587. 92 crore. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal divulged the amount in parliament on Tuesday responding to a tabled question from ruling Awami League MP Shahiduzzaman Sarker. The finance minister placed the list the names of top 20 loan defaulters, amount of total debt and the amount of defaulted loans to them. He also informed the House that the total number of defaulters in the country is 7,86,065. According to the list, among the top 20 loan defaulters, the debt status of CLC Power Company Limited is Tk 1,732.92 crore while their defaulted debt is 1,649.44 crore. The debt status and amount of defaulted loan of 19 others are: Western Marine Shipyard Ltd, Tk 1,855.39 crore, defaulted debt, 1529.74 crore; Remex Footwear Ltd, Tk 1,077.63 crore, all those amount are defaulted loans; Rising Steel Company Ltd, 1,142.76 crore, defaulted debt, Tk 990.28 crore; Mohammad Elias Brothers (Pvt.) Ltd, Tk 965.60 crore, all those amount are defaulted loans. Rupali Composite Leather Wire Ltd.'s status and amount of defaulted loans are the same. Their defaulted debt is Tk 873. 29 lakh. Crescent Leathers Products Ltd.'s status and amount of defaulted loans is Tk 855.22 crore. The status and amount of defaulted loans of Quantum Power Systems Ltd. is Tk 811.33 crore. The debt status of Saad Musa Fabrics Ltd. is Tk 1,131.83 crore, the amount of their defaulted loans is Tk 776.63 crore. The status of amount of BR Spinning Mills Ltd. and the amount of defaulted loans is Tk 721 Crore 43 Lakh. The debt status of SA Oil Refinery Ltd. is Tk 1,172.69 crore. The amount of their defaulted loans is Tk 703.53 crore. Debt status of Maisha Property Development Ltd. is Tk 686.14 crore. The amount of their defaulted loans is Tk 663.18 crore. Read more: JP’s Rustum Ali Faraji blasts Finance Minister for his silence on state of economy Debt status of Radium Composite Textile Ltd. is Tk 770.48 crore. The amount of their defaulted loans is Tk 660.42 crore. Debt status of Samannaz Super Oil Ltd. is Tk 1,130.68 crore. The amount of their defaulted loans is Tk 651.7 crore. Manha Precast Technology Ltd.'s debt status and defaulted debt amount is Tk 647.16 crore. Asian Education Ltd.'s debt status is Tk. 653 Crores. The amount of their defaulted loans is Tk 635.94 crore. Debt status of SM Steel Re-Rolling Mills Ltd. is Tk 888.71 crore. Their defaulted loan amount is 630.26 crore. The debt status of Apollo Steel Complex Ltd. is Tk 872.72 crore. The amount of their defaulted loans is Tk 623.34 crore. Debt Status of Ehsan Steel Re-Rolling Ltd. is Tk 624.27 crore. Their defaulted loans amount is Tk 590.23 crore and the debt status of Siddiqui Traders is Tk 670.68 crore while the amount of their defaulted loans is 541.20 crore. In response to a question from reserved seat lawmaker from ruling party Nazma Akhtar, the finance minister told the parliament that there is no plan to waive interest on agricultural loans. Mentioning the reason for this, the minister said that banks give loans to farmers with money collected from depositors. As depositors have to be paid interest, it is not possible for the bank to waive the interest on the loan given to the farmers. Responding to a question from lawmaker Habibur Rahman, Kamal said that no loan has been received so far from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in the current financial year (2022-23) while negotiations with the IMF regarding a loan are ongoing. “A loan of 300 million US dollars has been received from the World Bank in the current financial year. This loan is repayable in 30 years with a grace period of five years,” he said. Read more: 1st quarter performance of FY22-23 budget satisfactory: Finance Minister Replying a question from the ruling party lawmaker elected from Chattogram Md Abdul Latif's question, the minister said that the Japanese government has released 921.61 million US dollars for the overall development of Bangladesh till December of the current financial year. To a question of Jatiya Party lawmaker Syed Abu Hussain referring to the fact that the tax revenue was less than the target in the last financial year, Kamal said that the desired revenue collection has failed due to the post-Covid economic recession, Russia-Ukraine war, global monetary policy and austerity policy. In response to another question of Latif, he highlighted the various initiatives of the government to reduce the dollar crisis in the parliament. He informed that domestic banking units (local banks) have been given the right to raise foreign currency funds from their offshore banking operations, which will remain in force till June 30, 2023. In order to ensure a sufficient supply of edible oil, chickpeas, pulses, peas, onions, spices, sugar and dates at a bearable level during the month of Ramadan, all these products have been given a 90-day delay payment system to import these products, said the finance minister. It will remain in force till March 31, 2023. He said that with the aim of facilitating trade with China, the opportunity to trade with the country’s currency has been provided.

Sonali Bank Limited, a state-owned bank, has written off Tk 2,728 crore of its top 20 defaulters, including Hall-Mark, due to non-recovery. Sources said the bank has set a target of recovering Tk 272 crore, or 10 per cent of the loan cancelled this year but the latest data says the bank could not achieve even 8 percent of the target even after eight months. When contacted, Managing Director of Sonali Bank Md Ataur Rahman Prodhan told UNB that the loans have been written off as per rules. Also read: SC cancels Hallmark chairman’s bail; asks her to surrender “We’re trying to recover the loans …our teams are working in this regard. Writing off does not mean the loans won’t be repaid. It’s just keeping the loans in a separate balance sheet,” Ataur Rahman Prodhan said. Bangladesh Bank (BB) introduced a loan writing-off system in 2002 and then rule was amended in April 2019. As per the amended rule, a bank can write off its loan which is treated as bad loan for three consecutive years. It was five years previously, says Sonali Bank. According to the central bank, Sonali Bank has written off the highest amount of default loans of Tk 6,995 crore among the public banks. Of the total defaulted loans of the state-owned bank, 38 percent are with 20 defaulters, the BB data shows. Hall-Mark is among the 20 defaulters which have got its Tk 1,229 crore written off out of Tk 3,000 crore. Sources at the Bangladesh Bank said Sonali Bank could not yet overcome the burden of the huge scam since not a single penny could be recovered. Hall-Mark's loan scam had shaken the banking sector, casting a long-lasting burden on Sonali Bank’s investment. Also read: Two govt panels to probe alleged special treatment to jailed Hallmark GM Not only Hall-Mark, but also 18 others of the top 20 defaulters of Sonali Bank failed to repay 'zero' amount as of August this year. The other defaulters that got their default loans written off from Sonali Bank are: New Rakhi Textile Mills Limited (Tk 123 crore), Jasmi's Vegetable Oil (Tk105.55 crore), Fair Expo (Tk 96.30 crore), Alpha Tobacco (Tk 96.3 crore), One Spinning Mills (Tk 93.90 crore), Imperial Dyeing and Hosiery (Tk 90.13 crore), Rokeya Textile Mills (Tk 82.65crore) ,Sahil Fashion (81.18 crore), Imam Traders (Tk 80.85 crore), Sumi's Sweater (Tk76.7 crore), Riverside Leather and Footwear (Tk73.76 crore), Unity Knit (Tk 71.13 crore), Siddique Traders (Tk 69. 26 crore), KPF Textiles (Tk 68.56 crore), Moon Knitwear (Tk 67. 64 crore), AR Khan Sizing and Fabrics (Tk 66.86 crore), Jadu Spinning Mills Limited (Tk 50.34 crore), Sahil knitwear (Tk 57.68 crore) and Mask Sweater's (Tk 48.86 crore).

The High Court (HC) on Wednesday summoned 129 loan defaulters, including Proshanta Kumar Halder, the disgraced director of International Leasing and Finance Service Ltd (ILFSL), to explain how they would refund the borrowed money. They have been asked to appear before the court on May 24, 25 with plans so that they can pay the money in installments within a reasonable time. The bench of Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar passed the order on March 16. Written copy of the order was presented in the HC on Wednesday. Also read: HC seeks list of loan defaulters & money launderers Lawyer of ILFSL advocate Mahfuzur Rahman said the 129 loan defaulters, including PK Halder, have to pay ILFSC approximately Tk 1,800 crore. Among the loan defaulters, 100 were asked to appear on May 24 and 29 on the next day, he said. On January 21, the HC summoned another 280 loan defaulters to appear before it on February 23 and February 25. Among the defaulters, 158 appeared before the court. Also read: PK Halder swindle: ACC files 5 cases against 33 The HC asked them to pay the money or face jail. The court also imposed restrictions on foreign visit of 122 loan defaulters as they failed to appear before the court on March 9. Halder reportedly amassed Tk 3,600 crore and laundered the money abroad while performing his duties as director at ILFSL. Also read: Why PK Halder’s accomplices are still not arrested, asks HC On January 8, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed a case against Halder for acquiring wealth of approximately Tk 275 crore beyond any known income sources and money laundering.