Habib Group directors sentenced to 1 year in jail, fined Tk20cr for cheque fraud
A Chattogram court has sentenced two directors of the Habib Group, an industrial group, to one year of rigorous imprisonment in a cheque fraud case filed by Mercantile Bank.
The court of Mohammad Abu Ammar, the Fourth Joint Metropolitan Sessions Judge of Chattogram, also imposed a fine of Tk20 crore on the duo.
The convicted individuals - Mohammad Yakub Ali and his brother Mohammad Yasin Ali - are key figures in the Chattogram-based Habib Group. Yakub Ali serves as the chairman of Habib Steel Limited, while Yasin Ali is the managing director.
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The lawyer of the bank, Nusrat Ara Hira, confirmed the verdict to The Business Standard and said that both Yakub Ali and Yasin Ali are currently absconding.
Court documents reveal that Habib Steel Limited, under the leadership of Yakub and Yasin Ali, secured a loan from the Agrabad branch of Mercantile Bank. As part of the loan agreement, a Tk20 crore cheque was issued on 3 September 2023, drawn on an account with the Agrabad branch of National Bank. When Mercantile Bank submitted the cheque for encashment the following day, it was dishonoured due to insufficient funds.
On 5 September 2023, Mercantile Bank's lawyer Nusrat Ara Hira sent a legal notice to the borrowers. However, the brothers failed to deposit sufficient funds to honour the cheque. Consequently, on 17 October 2023, Mercantile Bank filed a cheque fraud case against them in a Chattogram court.
According to Nusrat Ara Hira, the court issued summons to the accused, but they did not appear. The case was transferred to the Fourth Joint Metropolitan Sessions Judge's court on 18 September 2024.
On 31 October 2024, the court framed charges and initiated the trial. After reviewing evidence and arguments, the court pronounced the verdict and sentenced the brothers today.
The Habib Group, which once operated 21 business units, including the high-profile Regent Airways, has faced allegations of loan default, misappropriation, and money laundering. The group reportedly began incurring losses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to media reports, the Ali brothers fled abroad without repaying substantial bank loans.
