Habib Group chairman, MD, directors ordered to repay Tk 350cr in 2 months

A Chattogram court has ordered Habib Group's chairman, managing director and directors to repay Tk 350 crore loans it took from two banks within two months.

The order was passed on Tuesday by the Money Loan Court Judge Mujahidur Rahman.

Habib Group is the parent conglomerate of a number of companies, including Regent Airways, which suspended operations indefinitely during the pandemic.

The judge gave them 60 days to comply with the order.

Of the amount, Tk 210 crore is to be paid to One Bank, and the rest to Dhaka Bank.

The order is applicable for Habib Group's chairman Yakub Ali, managing director Yasin Ali, directors Amina Mahbub, Anjuman Ara Begum, Salma Sultana, Tanvir Habib, Salman Habib and Mashruf Habib.

One Bank's Agrabad branch had filed three cases against three subsidiaries of the Group, namely HG Aviation, Siam's Superior Ltd and Legacy Fashion Ltd.

HG Aviation, a company fully-owned by Habib Group, was the owner of Regent Airways. Regent Airways' request to be liquidated was approved by the High Court on March 29, 2023.

In addition, Dhaka Bank's Khatunganj branch had filed suit against the Habib Steels, a subsidiary of the company, for defaulting on Tk 138 crore.

The order said there were no movable or immovable assets attached with the loans as collateral. "The banks had given the loans simply based on personal guarantees," said the order.

The directors have fled the country and are located abroad, it added, stating that despite several attempts by the court to bring them physically to the courtroom, they refused to show up and continued the case using a representative.

The group claimed to have about Tk 1,200 crore in bad investments as per prior media reports.