Behind bars, Nassa chief liquidates assets to rescue debt-ridden group
In recent weeks, shares Nazrul owned in several listed companies worth Tk43 crore have already been sold, while another Tk43 crore worth are in the process of being offloaded
From behind the walls of Kashimpur Central Jail, Nassa Group Chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumder is being forced to part with his most valuable assets — including prime land and shares worth crores — to clear overdue wages and renegotiate his group's massive defaulted loans of over Tk8,500 crore.
In recent weeks, shares Nazrul owned in several listed companies worth Tk43 crore have already been sold, while another Tk43 crore worth are in the process of being offloaded. In addition, a 40-decimal plot in Gulshan (Road 70, Plot 6) has been put up for sale to raise more funds.
According to an official letter dated 19 October to the labour secretary, seen by The Business Standard, court-appointed administrator Arif Ahmed Khan confirmed that proceeds from the share sales were used to pay August salaries to 17,134 workers via their Dutch-Bangla Bank accounts. Salaries for about 1,200 workers were delayed due to account errors, which are now being resolved.
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Nassa officials said the group now plans to sell the Gulshan property to raise around Tk100 crore needed to regularise loans and cover growing severance payments for workers of its shuttered factories.
Nassa Group's garment and textile factories, once booming under the previous government, have faced closures and irregular wages since July, as the chairman sits in jail on graft charges after last year's political shift.
Selling shares under court approval
Confirming the wage payments, Nassa Group Vice Chairman Khandakar Mohammad Saiful Alam told TBS, "Workers' August salaries have been fully paid. The nine operational factories have also paid September wages, and salaries for employees of the non-operational factories will be cleared by 30 October. The chairman's shares were sold to make these payments."
A senior company official, requesting anonymity, said Nazrul personally owned shares in several listed firms that had been frozen by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) following last year's political change. However, court approval was later obtained to sell those shares solely for paying workers.
He added that the current market value of Nazrul's shares stands at Tk86 crore, all of which will be sold. When the ACC initially froze the assets, their value was around Tk300 crore.
He added that shares worth Tk43.58 crore have already been sold, and the remaining shares, valued at around Tk43 crore, are in the process of being sold. The proceeds will be used to pay workers' September wages.
Debt crisis deepens
Nassa Group, one of Bangladesh's largest garment and textile conglomerates, has been unable to pay wages regularly since July, after many of its factories suspended operations amid a debt burden of Tk8,676 crore owed to 22 banks and one financial institution. Workers have since staged multiple protests demanding unpaid wages.
In response, the government has held several high-level meetings with Nassa officials to prevent further unrest. The Bangladesh Bank has permitted lenders to reschedule Nassa's defaulted loans with just a 1% down payment, but this will require nearly Tk100 crore in upfront cash to complete the process. Loan regularisation is crucial for reopening import-export LCs and resuming business.
Of Nassa's 25 factories, management plans to keep nine operational while closing 16 units, for which Tk154 crore in severance payments will be required. Overall, the group needs Tk250 crore in the short term to stabilise operations.
Jailhouse meeting approves asset sales
A tripartite meeting on 23 September at the Secretariat, chaired by Labour and Employment Adviser Brig Gen (retd) M Sakhawat Hussain, decided that Nassa must clear all August wages by 15 October.
To make this possible, the home ministry authorised a rare meeting at Kashimpur Jail gate on 17 August, where Nazrul met representatives from Nassa Group, Bangladesh Bank, private banks, and government agencies. There, he granted power of attorney to sell unpledged assets, paving the way for the share sales now underway.
When asked about the progress in repaying Nassa Group's bank loans and resuming international trade – that is, securing orders from foreign garment buyers – Vice Chairman Khandakar Mohammad Saiful Alam said, "LCs have not yet been opened. We're in communication with the banks, and preparations are underway to make the necessary payments. We expect to complete these processes and start opening LCs by November."
Nazrul, who founded Nassa Group in 1990, led the Bangladesh Association of Banks for nearly 17 years under the Awami League-led regime since 2008. He is also the former chairman of EXIM Bank.
Following the fall of the Awami League government on 5 August 2024, the Bangladesh Bank removed him and his wife, Nasreen Islam, from the EXIM Bank board on 29 August.
On 25 August, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit ordered all banks to freeze the accounts of Nazrul and his wife.
After Nazrul's arrest on 2 October 2024, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) launched an investigation against him on allegations of laundering nearly $3 million, or around Tk35 crore, to the United States under the pretext of export.
Nazrul is accused of committing the said crime through trade-based money laundering using Firoza Garments, a concern of Nassa Group, according to a media statement issued by the CID.
