HC asks for list of loan defaulters

The High Court yesterday ordered the Bangladesh Bank to submit a list of borrowers with more than Tk 1 crore in default loans as part of its efforts to salvage the banking sector from its current unstable situation. 

In response to a writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, the court also asked the BB governor to present a report containing details of the money laundered overseas and the steps taken to recover the funds.

The HC bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice KM Kamrul Kader came up with the order on the grounds that an unstable situation has been created in the banking sector and necessary steps are needed to overcome it.

The court issued a rule asking the respondents to explain why their failure or inaction to stop various irregularities, illegalities and corruption in case of sanctioning of loans and waiver of interest against bank loans in the last 20 years should not be declared illegal.

The rule asked them to show causes why their failure to recover the loans from the defaulters in the past two decades should not be declared unlawful.

The respondents are secretaries to the cabinet division and the prime minister's secretariat, ministries of finance, the financial institutions division and law, the BB governor, the chairmen of the National Board of Revenue and the Anti-Corruption Commission, petitioner's lawyer Manzill Murshid told The Daily Star.

The court ordered the respondents to explain why they should not be directed to stop the irregularities and corruption in sanctioning of loans and waiver of interest as well as recover the loan amount from the defaulters.

It also asked the authorities concerned to show causes why they should not be directed to form a commission to look into the irregularities and corruption in giving out loans and waiving interest in the last two decades.

During the hearing, Murshid told the court that depositors had lost huge amounts of money due to some irregularities, illegalities and corruption in the sanctioning of loans and interest waiver.