Tk 276.75 cr loan default case : Ex-land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed, wife among 6 given 5-month jail
Star Report
A Chattogram court on Sunday sentenced former land minister Saifuzzaman Chowdhury Javed, his wife, and four others to five months of civil imprisonment each in a Tk 276.75 crore loan default case.
Judge Helal Uddin of the Chattogram Money Loan Court passed the order following a petition filed by IFIC Bank seeking punitive action against the defaulters.
The five other convicts are Saifuzzaman's wife Rukhmila Zaman, SM Alamgir Chowdhury, Khorshedul Alam, Habib Ullah, and Shafiqul Islam.
Court Bench Assistant Md Saifuddin Parvez confirmed the development, adding that the court also issued arrest warrants against all six convicts as they are currently absconding.
According to court sources, IFIC Bank’s Agrabad branch filed a financial suit in 2025 against Aramit Cement, a business concern of the former minister’s family, for failing to repay loans. Following the trial, the court issued a decree on December 1 for the recovery of Tk 258.21 crore.
As the defendants failed to clear the dues within the mandatory 60-day deadline, the bank filed an execution suit in July this year to recover the outstanding amount, which has now accumulated to Tk 276.75 crore.
During proceedings, the bank's counsel informed the court that the loan lacked mortgaged collateral, making it impossible to recover the funds through property auctions. The bank argued that the defaulters showed no intent to settle the debt and petitioned for their civil imprisonment.
Upon hearing the arguments, the court ordered five months' imprisonment for each of the six accused under Section 34 of the Money Loan Court Act, 2003.
