SC stays jail sentences of Agrani Bank MD, 3 officials
The Supreme Court today stayed a High Court verdict till March 18 that sentenced four high officials of Agrani Bank, including its managing director, to three months' civil imprisonment on charges of violating its (HC) order of status quo regarding sending the name of Moon Group as a loan defaulter to Bangladesh Bank.
Chamber judge of the Appellate Division of the SC Justice M Enayetur Rahim passed the order following three petitions filed by the bank officials challenging the HC verdict on them.
The apex court chamber judge also sent the petitions to its full bench for further hearing of the matters on March 18.
The SC judge expressed dissatisfaction at Moon Group's lawyer Md Nurul Amin for moving such a case and questioned whether such a case filed by Moon Group is acceptable or not and whether a single judge's HC bench can deliver such a verdict.
Following an appeal filed by Moon Group's Managing Director Mizanur Rahman, the HC bench of Justice AKM Asaduzzaman on January 23 sentenced the four officials of Agrani Bank to three months' civil imprisonment.
The bench also asked the magistrate court concerned to attach the properties of four bank officials and ordered them to surrender before the magistrate court in four weeks.
The four officials are -- Agrani Banks' Managing Director Md Murshedul Kabir, its Principal Branch's General Manager AKM Fazlul Karim, and its two deputy managing directors Shyamal Krishna Saha (now on post-retirement leave) and Wahida Begum, their lawyer Advocate Mohammad Delawar Hosain told The Daily Star.
He said Agrani Bank authorities sent a letter to Moon Group on September 20, 2021, asking the Group to pay the instalment of 25 percent of its loan to the bank by September 30, 2021.
As Moon Group did not pay any instalment, Agrani Bank sent the name of the Group as a loan defaulter to the credit bureau pf information (CIB) list of Bangladesh Bank on September 30, 2021, he said.
The amount of loans taken by Moon Group's four companies—Moon International Printing and Press Limited; MR Trading Company; MR Trading Company, Barguna; and Moon Bangladesh Limited from Agrani Bank was Tk 539 crore till 2017.
Of the total amount Tk 205 core was waived and rescheduled through court settlements, he said.
In response to a petition, filed by Moon Group's MD Mizanur, the HC on December 2, 2021, issued a rule and status quo order on the operation of Agrani Bank's letter, he said.
Lawyer Delawar said Agrani Bank sent the name of Moon Group as a loan defaulter to the CIB list of Bangladesh Bank on September 30, 2021, three months before the HC issued the rule and status quo and there was no question for violating its order.
But the HC sentenced his clients on the charge of violating its order of status quo, he said, adding that Moon Group has filed around 80 cases against Agrani Bank to stop payment of its loan.
Moon Group's lawyer Md Nurul Amin could not be reached for his comments despite repeated attempts over phone calls.
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