A Chattogram court has sentenced five top executives of Regent Textile Mills Limited, including its chairman and managing director, to one year of simple imprisonment in a cheque dishonour lawsuit involving over BDT 67 million. Judge Fatema Begum Mukta of the 5th Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court of Chattogram handed down the verdict on Tuesday, 10 November. Alongside the custodial terms, the court ordered the convicted officials to pay a fine equivalent to the dishonoured cheque amount of BDT 67,074,000.
The five convicted individuals are Regent Textile Mills Limited Chairman Yakub Ali, Managing Director Salman Habib, and Directors Mohammad Yasin Ali, Mashroor Habib, and Tanvir Habib. Case records show that the board of directors of the Kalurghat-based textile mill had previously obtained a substantial commercial credit facility from the Agrabad branch of Mercantile Bank. To repay and settle their outstanding financial liabilities with the financial institution, the company’s management issued cheques totaling BDT 67,074,000 in favour of the lender.
Trouble arose when bank authorities deposited the financial instruments for encashment on the scheduled dates, only for the cheques to be returned dishonoured owing to insufficient funds in the firm’s account. Following repeated failed attempts to recover the unpaid dues directly from the borrower, the bank management initiated formal legal proceedings under the provisions of the Negotiable Instruments Act. Advocate Nusrat Ara Hira represented Mercantile Bank as the primary legal counsel throughout the trial.
Confirming the judicial decision, Advocate Nusrat Ara Hira stated that the trial court meticulously reviewed the documentary evidence and witness testimony before finding all five accused guilty of financial fraud. None of the convicted corporate executives were present in the courtroom when the judge pronounced the sentencing. The court directed law enforcement to issue arrest warrants against the absconding officials, clarifying that their one-year jail sentences will formally take effect from the date of their arrest or voluntary surrender before the court.
