Janata Bank auctions S Alam Group’s land again

State owned Janata Bank has put lands of S Alam Sugar Refine Industry Limited, a company of S Alam Group on auction.

S Alam Sugar Refine Industry Limited owes Tk 17.77 billion (Tk 1,777 crore) to the bank. The loan is registered with the bank’s corporate branch at Sadharan Bima Bhaban in Chattogram.

Total 2,971 decimals of land are being put on auction against that loan. The bank has issued a notice to disclose the matter of putting the land on auction.  

Reportedly, almost all of Tk 100 billion (Tk 10,000 crore) the S Alam Group had taken in loans from Janata Bank has defaulted. As a result, the bank is now auctioning the land mortgaged against each of the loans one after another.

As per the Banking Act, the lands will be put on auction first, if failed the money will be collected in other ways.

The Janata Bank had auctioned land owned by S Alam Group to recover defaulted loans even before. Earlier on 20 November, 1,860 decimals of land were auctioned to recover defaulted loans worth Tk 18.5 billion (Tk 1,850 crore).

The money was owed by Global Trading Corporation Limited, a company associated with S Alam Group. The loan was disbursed from the corporate branch of Janata Bank at Sadharan Bima Bhaban in Chattogram. The auction was held at that same branch.

According to Janata Bank sources, S Alam Group has been a client of the bank since 2004. It took a total of Tk 101 billion (Tk 10,100 crore) in loan from the corporate branch of Janata Bank at Sadharan Bima Bhaban, and the amount is more than 80 per cent of the branch’s total disbursal.

Against the total loan of Tk Tk 101 billion (Tk 10,100 crore) properties worth Tk 27.49 billion (Tk 2,749 crore) are kept as mortgage at the bank. That means even after selling these properties, the bank won’t be able to recover the entire loan.