Tk189cr loan default: Arrest warrant issued against top shipbreaker Maheen

The court has issued an arrest warrant against one of the country's top loan defaulters, Ashikur Rahman Lashkar Maheen.

Judge Mujahidur Rahman of the Money Loan Court in Chattogram issued this warrant yesterday (2 December) against the fugitive shipbreaking businessman for not repaying a loan of Tk189 crore to the National Bank.

The court's Bench Assistant Rezaul Karim said National Bank filed a case against Grand Trading Enterprise with the court in 2022 to recover a debt of Tk175 crore.

The verdict in the case was pronounced on 22 May, 2023, in favour of the bank, yet Maheen did not repay the money. So, the bank again filed another loan default case in the same court.

Since defendant Maheen has not been present in the court since the beginning of the case, the court issued a five-month civil detention order against him yesterday (2 December).

Currently, the company owes National Bank Tk1,894,858,042, including interest.

An official of the bank on condition of anonymity told The Business Standard that Grand Trading took this loan from National Bank's Khatunganj branch in 2018. The document names Md Moazzem Hossain as the managing director of Grand Trading and his wife Sadika Afrin Deepti as the director. Maheen was the personal guarantor.

The identity cards of Moazzem and Sadika were used in the loan documents, but they have not been found yet. The bank official also alleged that Maheen managed to take the loan through his connections with the senior officials of National Bank as well as officials of Sikder Group, which owned the bank at the time.

Even though the bank documents mention the address of Grand Trading in North Sonachhari, Sitakunda, no such institution exists there. There is no collateral against this loan as well, said the bank official.

The bank officials concerned alleged that Maheen smuggled a large part of the loans to Canada, Panama and Liberia. In addition, this young entrepreneur is accused of living a luxurious life, including becoming a director of Meghna Bank, buying land, building a luxurious house, and buying new models of cars with the loaned money.

Maheen left the country on 6 March 2023. The day before his departure (5 March), the Money Loan Court had imposed a travel ban on him to stop him from leaving the country in the loan default case filed by National Bank.

He had taken a total of about Tk2,000 crore in loans from various banks and financial institutions.

Apart from National Bank, Maheen owe Tk1,257 crore to AB Bank, Tk185 crore to Dhaka Bank, Tk100 crore to Mercantile Bank, Tk100 crore to Agrani Bank, Tk72 crore to Phoenix Finance, Tk29 crore to Premier Bank, Tk24 crore to IFIC Bank, Tk19 crore to Fareast Finance and Investment Limited, and Tk12 crore to Meridian Finance and Investment Limited.

Maheen took these loans in the name of Maheen Enterprise, Maheen Enterprise Limited, ARL Shipbreaking Limited, and ARL Garments.