Loan default: Arrest warrant against 2 Nurjahan Group owners

A Chattogram court issued an arrest warrant against Nurjahan Group Managing Director and Chairman Zahir Ahmed Ratan and Director Tipu Sultan in a Tk936 crore loan default case.

Judge Mujahidur Rahman of the Chattogram Money Loan Court gave the order on Tuesday in the case filed by the Agrabad Corporate branch of the Agrani Bank.

Of them, Tipu Sultan has been in jail in another loan default case. 

The same court sentenced three Nurjahan Group owners, including the chairman and director, to five months of civil prison for going into hiding without paying the bank's Tk325 crore in loans.

According to the case dockets, earlier in 2013, Agrani Bank's Agrabad corporate branch had filed a case against Nurjahan Group over uncleared loans of more than Tk325 crore. The court ordered the group for the repayment of the loan in a case filed by the bank. 

However, the court later ordered the issuance of warrants against the defendants for the non-payment of the loan. 

Nurjahan Group, a Chattogram-based conglomerate, is one of the giants of the consumer goods business. Even though it used to dominate the sectors involving edible oil, wheat, and spices, the business, its market shrunk due to rising debts over the past few years. 

Of the loans, three sister concerns of the group had borrowed Tk936 crore from Agrani Bank, Tk544 crore from Rupali Bank, Tk500 crore from National Bank, Tk326 crore from Janata Bank and Tk106 crore from Sonali Bank. 

At present, the consumer goods import business of the group is closed.