Rejoinder (2024-04-26)

The management of Abdul Monem Sugar Refinery, in a rejoinder issued on Thursday, termed inappropriate the news item headlined 'Abdul Monem Group's bank accounts frozen' published in the Thursday issue of The Financial Express.

"The comment on misuse of the bond facility and illegal sale in the open market is not based on facts," the rejoinder said.

Admitting the presence of stressed financial condition in the past fiscal years, the company said some of government duties remained unpaid which would be paid on a rollover basis.

"By now, the majority of the amount has already been paid, and payment of the remaining amount is in process," it reads.

FE's reply: The FE correspondent wrote the news on the basis of a letter sent by the National Board of Revenue (NBR) to the commercial banks and the Export Promotion Bureau on unpaid taxes. The FE did not mention anything such as 'illegally removed' and 'misuse of bond facility' in the report as claimed by the AML. The FE correspondent tried to contact the AML spokesperson for comment on the NBR letter, but no response was made.