EC to give final decision on loan defaulter Jashim’s chairman candidacy in Chandanaish polls: Returning officer

The candidacy of Jashim Uddin Ahmed, a chairman candidate from Chandanaish in Wednesday's upazila polls in Chattogram, now depends on the decision of the Election Commision as Padma Bank has submitted an application requesting cancellation of his candidacy stating him as an "wilful defaulter."

Padma Bank sent a letter to the Election Commission on Monday following a Supreme Court order that scrapped a High Court stay order, which Jashim had obtained earlier, preventing access to his Credit Information Bureau (CIB) status.

Justice M Enayetur Rahim, a senior judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court issued the order on Monday in response to a leave to appeal filed by Padma Bank. 

On the matter, Additional District Election Officer of Chattogram and Returning Officer Shahidul Islam Pramanik confirmed that they have received an application from Padma Bank regarding the cancellation of candidacy of Jashim Uddin.

He said, "We have informed the Election Commission about the matter. The commission will make the final decision."

In the application made to the returning officer, Padma Bank stated that Jashim Uddin Ahmed is a wilful defaulter and there are ongoing cases against him under the Negotiable Instruments Act (for check fraud) and in the Money Loan Court, which includes arrest warrants and property seizure orders.

Despite these issues, he had obtained a three-month stay order from the High Court to prevent his CIB status from being accessed. However, following an appeal from the bank, the Appellate Division suspended the effectiveness of this order for eight weeks, the application said.

In such a situation, we (Padma Bank) request cooperation and reconsideration of loan defaulter Jashim Uddin's candidacy, the application further added.

Abdullah Al Harun, head of law at Padma Bank, said, "We are fighting in the highest court to recover the dues from this defaulter. Since the Supreme Court has scrapped the stay order on his CIB status, we have requested the Election Commission to cancel his candidacy."

Previously, on 27 March, Jashim applied to the 5th Joint District Judge Court in Dhaka to remove his name from the CIB database as a defaulter, but the court denied his application. He then appealed to the High Court, which imposed a three-month injunction on displaying his CIB status on 3 April.

Additionally, last Sunday, the Money Loan Court in Chattogram reissued an arrest warrant against Jashim Uddin for his continued participation in election campaigns despite having a previous arrest warrant against him. Judge Mujahidur Rahman issued the order, directing the Officer-in-Charge of Chandanaish Police Station to arrest him.

Earlier, Rezaul Karim, assistant bench of the money loan court, said Jashim owes two banks about Tk118 crore. 

In a case filed by one of the banks, the court has already issued three orders against him: one prohibiting him from leaving the country, second for his arrest, and the third for seizure of assets due to non-repayment of loans, Rezaul added.

Jashim, in his election affidavit, did mention loans of Tk60 crore from Padma Bank's Khatunganj branch and Tk11.63 crore from Sonali Bank's Motijheel branch but marked the defaulter section as "not applicable."

According to Padma Bank records, Jashim, owner of Jessica Trade International, obtained a loan of Tk60 crore from Padma Bank's Khatunganj branch in 2016, as working capital for a trading business. 

Taken under the Cash Credit-Hypothecation category, the loan was to be repaid within a year after the end of the business. However, the repayment has not been made even after nearly 8 years. 

In 2022, the bank had restructured the loan with full interest waiver, but Jashim has still not paid the amount as per the conditions. Currently, the outstanding amount is about Tk94 crore with interest.

On 28 July, 2020, Padma Bank filed a loan case (case Number-103/2020) against Jashim due to non-repayment of the loan. Later, on 29 January this year, the money loan court gave the verdict in the case where Jashim was asked to repay the loan with interest as he did not repay it even after restructuring.