79 loan defaulters among election aspirants found

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FE Report
The central bank has so far found at least 79 loan defaulters among 2139 aspirants who intend to run for the parliamentary polls scheduled for December 29.
Besides, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) is still cross-checking by nine teams of its credit information bureau (CIB) the loan position of 28 more aspirants, officials said.
"We'll complete scrutinising the default loan positions of candidates by Tuesday night and the final list of defaulters will be sent to the election officials concerned throughout the country," Executive Director of the BB Khandakar Muzharul Haque told reporters Tuesday.
He also said the central bank will send the final list of loan defaulters seeking nominations to the Election Commission (EC) for taking necessary action.
The returning officers will scrutinise the nomination papers on December 3 and 4 and candidatures have to be withdrawn by December 11, according to the latest schedule.
"Both the representatives of commercial banks and CIB will be present during the nomination papers scrutiny for identifying loan defaulters among the aspirants," Mr. Haque added.

See list of defaulters on politics page

The officials also said the central bank has already instructed the banks and Non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) to ensure presence of their executives in case of any hearing on the loan default cases.
Identified defaulters include some senior political leaders from major political parties including Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Awami League and Jatiya Party, they confirmed.
Meanwhile, at least 38 borrowers including some businessmen and influential political leaders have recently filed writ petitions with High Court for dropping their names from the defaulters' list of the CIB of the central bank. Earlier, 270 others also filed writ petitions for the same purpose.
"We've already directed the commercial banks and NBFIs to strengthen their legal actions including applying for vacating writ petitions filed by the loan defaulters in the High Court," the BB executive director said.
The central bank has taken necessary measures including appointing new lawyers to vacate such petitions, he added.
The BB earlier asked the banks and NBFIs to appoint senior and experienced lawyers for taking legal actions including applying for vacating writ petitions filed by the loan defaulters in the High Court.
The central bank and the EC earlier asked the commercial banks and NBFIs to keep the branches and the loan recovery divisions at the head offices and the CIB of the Bangladesh Bank open from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm until December 4.
Under the amended Representation of the People Order (RPO), any person willing to contest the elections requires to clear default loans and outstanding utility bills seven days before submission of nomination papers.