Court orders confiscation of Imam Group owner's house over loan default

A Chattogram court has ordered the confiscation of the residence belonging to the owner of the Imam Group, a business conglomerate in Bangladesh, for loan default. 

The order, issued by Judge Mujahidur Rahman of the Chattogram Money Loan Court on Thursday, comes in response to a case filed by IFIC Bank seeking the recovery of Tk141.83 crore.

Rezaul Karim, the bench assistant of Chattogram Money Loan Court, confirmed that the court had granted the application from IFIC Bank, leading to the order to seize the property owned by the Imam Group.

According to the court, the legal battle began in 2012, when IFIC Bank's Agrabad branch filed a debt recovery case against the Imam Group to reclaim Tk61 crore in defaulted loans. Following a verdict in the debt recovery case in 2022, the bank pursued a follow-up case to recover Tk141.83 crore. 

As part of this legal process, the court imposed a travel ban on Mohammad Ali, the owner of the Imam Group, his wife Jebunnesa Akter, and their son Ali Imam.

Attempting to challenge the order, Ali Imam filed a writ petition in the High Court. However, the High Court upheld the decision of the Money Loan Court. It was revealed that Mohammad Ali had fraudulently mortgaged properties belonging to others to secure the loans. With the mortgaged properties failing to be sold at auction, the court has now ordered the confiscation of Mohammad Ali's residence, even though he is currently residing in Dubai.

The court and the creditor banks said that Mohammad Ali has been on the run in the United Arab Emirates since mid-2019 after being convicted in several civil and criminal cases. Outstanding dues of around Tk800 crore are entangled with 15 banks and financial institutions, owed by various institutes under Mohammad Ali's ownership. The majority of these loans have now become default loans.

The Imam Group has faced legal challenges with 60 lawsuits for the recovery of default loans and dishonoured checks, resulting in arrest warrants in 55 cases. Additionally, Mohammad Ali has been sentenced to two years in prison in over 10 dishonoured check cases.

Mohammad Ali, previously known as "Blacker Mohammad Ali" in Chattogram due to his involvement in illegal goods importation in the 1990s, began as an ordinary staff in the Khatunganj-Terri Bazar area. His business, Imam Traders, dominated the consumer goods market in Khatunganj during the 1990s. The group expanded into various sectors, including garments and machinery import, utilizing loans obtained between 2000 and 2005.

Since 2010, the Imam Group faced financial challenges, leading to losses in the consumer goods and real estate sectors. The loans invested by various banks became stranded, prompting legal actions from 2012-13.