A Chattogram court has stayed the transfer of 1,534,210 shares of Mostafa Group in One Bank over a loan default case.
Judge Mujahidur Rahman of Chattogram Money Loan Court issued the order today (22 September) in response to a Tk280 crore default case filed by National Bank.
Rezaul Karim, bench assistant of the Money Loan Court, said the National Bank’s Agrabad branch had raised concerns about the possible sale of Mostafa Paper Complex’s shares, prompting the court to preemptively freeze them.
In July, National Bank filed the case against nine owners of Mostafa Complex, including its chairman Taysir Rahman, managing director Rakibur Rahman, and his father Hefazatur Rahman, uncle Mohammad Kapil Uddin, and other family members—Mohammad Shafiq Uddin, Jahir Uddin, Jasim Uddin, and Kamal Uddin.
Hefazatur Rahman is the mortgagee and guarantor of the loan taken from National Bank, who holds 1,534,210 shares in One Bank valued at Tk1.53 crore. The bank contended that the owners are loan defaulters with debts across multiple banks, and their attempts to sell shares would compromise the recovery of public money.
Mostafa Group, a long-standing business conglomerate in Chittagong, has been struggling financially. Several of its businesses – including consumer goods, shipbreaking, agriculture, and paper – have closed, with the group owing Tk2,500 crore to over 30 financial institutions.
The group’s managing director, Zahir Uddin, reportedly left for Canada in 2019 without settling the dues.
