Fugitive Ctg shipbreaker ordered to repay Tk1,126cr in loan default case
The court also ordered relevant authorities to take measures to bring him, who is in Canada, back to the country
A Chattogram court ordered Ashikur Rahman Lashkar Maheen, an entrepreneur in the port city's shipbreaking industry, to repay Tk1,126 crore in a loan default case.
Judge Mujahidur Rahman of Chattogram Money Loan Court gave this order on Sunday in the loan default case filed by the AB Bank Agrabad branch.
At the same time, the court has also instructed relevant authorities to pursue diplomatic measures to bring Maheen, who is in Canada, back to the country to address the loan default issue.
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The case was initially filed by the AB Bank Agrabad branch on 18 June, seeking to recover a defaulted loan amounting to Tk1,126 crore from Maheen Enterprise.
Despite receiving multiple court orders to appear, Maheen did not attend the hearings. He subsequently requested permission from the court to appear remotely from Canada, but this request was denied. Instead, the court has directed him to repay the loan within one month.
Additionally, the case includes three other defendants: Maheen's father, Atiqur Rahman Laskar; mother, Shamsun Nahar Laskar; and wife, Rubaiya Laskar. The parents and wife served as mortgagors and grantors of the loan, respectively.
According to the court, Maheen left the country without repaying a massive Tk2,000 crore loan he had taken from 10 banks and financial institutions. He is now residing in Toronto, Canada.
According to AB Bank sources, Maheen had secured a loan of around Tk1,500 crore from AB Bank with only nominal collateral. He took his first loan from the bank in 2004. From 2007-08 onwards, he gradually started taking out larger amounts of loans.
Although he initially made proper loan repayments for the first few years, after 2013-14 he failed to make any significant repayments. Despite being a defaulter, Maheen managed to obtain a loan worth Tk133 crore in February 2020 for importing scrap ships using his influence. Although he rescheduled the loan last year, he has not been making regular installments since January.
The officials concerned with the AB Bank Agrabad branch expressed concern about the loan repayment since he had already left the country.
According to sources, there are only five flats worth Tk5 crore that serve as collateral for a loan of Tk1,500 crore.
Maheen also obtained a Tk175 crore loan from National Bank's Khatunganj branch, Tk185 crore from Dhaka Bank's Agrabad branch, Tk100 crore from Mercantile Bank's Agrabad branch, Tk100 crore from Agrani Bank's Laldighi branch, Tk29 crore from Premier Bank's Pahartali branch, and Tk24 crore from IFIC Bank's Agrabad branch.
These loans were taken in the names of Maheen Enterprises, Grand Trading Enterprises, ARL Shipbreaking, and ARL Garments, according to Maheen's creditors.
