Govt to appoint administrator for Jubok to recover depositors' money

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Nazmul Ahsan
The government will soon appoint an administrator for Jubo Karmasangsthan Society (Jubok) to recover the money embezzled by the controversial lender and return it to the aggrieved depositors, official sources said.
Jubok stole about Tk 14.40 billion of 0.16 million clients countrywide, according to a final estimate of the government finalised last week.
Meanwhile, the Inquiry Commission on Jubok, established in January this year, is in search of an administrator for Jubok. The tenure of the Commission, headed by Dr.Mohammad Farash Uddin, former governor of Bangladesh Bank, was extended recently up to February, 2011.
A recent meeting of the Commission has decided to appoint the administrator so that the mismatch between the dues and liabilities of the controversial NGO is settled, a commission member said.
The Commission sources said they are expected to finalise the modus operandi of disbursing the embezzled amount of Jubok by December. The administrator will execute the recommendations of the Commission after the highest authority of the government, either the cabinet or Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, approves the recommendations, it is learnt.
The first step will be to appoint the administrator and recruit his office staffs soon, and then undertake efforts to recover money and mobilise fund by selling Jubok assets for refunding the deposited amount to the clients, a Commission member said.
He said the NGO (non-governmental organisation) has huge movable and immovable properties, which Jubok did not mention all to the Commission.
However, insiders alleged that a number of Commission members has been trying overtly and covertly to save Jubok.
Presently, a makeshift office in Bangladesh Bank is working on Jubok issues, particularly compiling claims of its clients and assessing the assets of the defunct NGO.
Sources in the Inquiry Commission said the payment to Jubok clients might be made in phases on availability of funds.
'We may consider adopting the re-payment system of former Oriental Bank as the payment to the bank's clients was made in phases over the years," a Commission Member said.
Earlier, following allegations of illegal banking by Jubok, the central bank issued a show-cause notice on it in May 2006. Later, it ordered the NGO to stop taking all types of deposits and distributing loans.
The home ministry and the central bank in separate investigation reports said that Jubok had embezzled millions of taka by cheating people through different projects.