Nurjahan Group chairman, MD jailed in cheque bounce case

A Chattorgam court has sentenced Nurjahan Group Chairman Tipu Sultan and Managing Director (MD) Jahir Ahmed to one year in prison in a cheque dishonour case.

Judge Nur-e-Alam Bhuiyan of Chittagong Joint Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court-1 passed the order on Thursday in the case filed by Bangladesh Commerce Bank's Dewanhat branch over a Tk6 crore dishonoured cheque.

The bank's lawyer Shafiul Azam Majumdar said apart from jailing the chairman and MD of Nurjahan Group, the court fined the group Tk6 crore in the case. Both the convicts are absconding.

According to court sources, in 2012, the Dewanhat branch of Bangladesh Commerce Bank Ltd filed 10 cases regarding 10 cheques worth Tk60 crore against Marrin Vegetable Oils Limited – a concern of Nurjahan Group.

On 1 August, 19 June, and 10 May, verdicts were also given by courts in three separate cheque bounce cases against the top brass of the company.

In the four cases, the chairman and MD were sentenced to one year in prison and fined a total of Tk22 crore, tantamount to the amount mentioned in the cheques.

In 2011, the company took a loan from Bangladesh Commerce Bank Ltd to import edible oil. In 2019, Bangladesh Commerce Bank filed a loan default case against the company over Tk110 crore dues.

The Chattogram-based Nurjahan Group is one of the giants in the consumer goods business including edible oil, wheat and spices. The group's business has shrunk over the past few years amid rising debts. At present, the group has completely closed its business of importing consumer goods.