Janata Bank has announced the auction of properties belonging to Global Trading Corporation, an associate company of S Alam Group, to recover defaulted loans amounting to Tk1,850 crore.
1,860 acres of land in Chittagong and Gazipur have been mortgaged.
Janata Bank published a notice regarding the auction in newspapers, stating that the auction will take place on November 20.
A total of 1,860 acres of land owned by S Alam Group in Chittagong and Gazipur have been mortgaged against this loan, with a maximum market value of Tk358 crore. This amount is nearly five times less than the outstanding debt.
Selling this property will not fully recover the defaulted loan, and further legal action may be required to collect the remaining outstanding amount.
A 2021 audit report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh (CAG) said that Global Trading Corporation has taken excess loans beyond the limits set by Bangladesh Bank.
The report mentions that in 2012, Global Trading Corporation initially took a loan of Tk650 crore from the Chittagong branch of Janata Bank. By 2021, this loan, along with interest, had reached a total of Tk1,070.65 crore.
This includes Tk617.47 crore as Payment Against Document (PAD), Tk223.18 crore as LTR, and Tk229.99 crore as CC Hypo loans. Including interest, the total loan amount increased to Tk1,850 crore by September 2024.
