A government-appointed administrator may revive and run the beleaguered Multi-level Marketing (MLM) outfit Jubok to help out a large number of its swindled members.
Official sources gave such an idea as a government-formed eight-member committee on the scam by the Jubo Karmasangsthan Society (Jubok) has decided to submit its final report to the ministry of commerce (MoC) by November 15.
They said the report may carry a recommendation for appointment of an administrator for the Jubok, as a way out of the longstanding crisis.
The decision came at an inter-ministerial meeting held at the MoC last Wednesday, they added.
In last August, the MoC formed the eight-member committee to find ways of return of the embezzled funds to the clients of Jubok.
The committee, headed by Abdul Mannan, a joint secretary of the MoC, comprises representatives of the ministries of Finance, Commerce, Law, Land, and Social Welfare and Bangladesh Bank (BB).
"It is difficult to say whether administrator will be appointed or not. There is no option to appoint any administrator. So, we shall not be able to tell in detail. But we will submit a report to solve the crisis in the infamous cooperative society which allegedly cheated millions of people," said a member of the committee, who attend the meeting.
He, however, said the committee decided in the meeting to submit a final report to the commerce minister and the senior secretary of the MoC by November 15. Then they will place the report with the government authority concerned.
The government wants to take fruitful steps so that money could be given back to the members of the cooperative, a commerce ministry official said.
He said necessary work had been done earlier regarding Jubok's assets. There was a commission which suggested appointment of an administrator to protect the assets of the cooperative and take their control.
Sources said the government now wants a fair and fruitful solution about the plight of the Jubok members-who are mostly unemployed youths desperately looking for a livelihood.
The cooperative, in the name of paying high profit, lured over 0.3 million of such people to collect a huge sum of money.
The ill-fated people have been on a long wait for years to get back their hard-earned money. But for lack of proper steps by the authorities concerned they were left in the lurch.
In March last year, the Jubok Commission headed by former bureaucrat Rafiqul Islam submitted a report to the Ministry of Finance with a suggestion for appointment of an administrator for its better management.
Amendments to the criminal law, the Money Laundering Act, and the Inquiry Act of 1956 were among other recommendations made by the commission.
"However, the government opted for a go-slow policy in response to the recommendations," said one of the sources.
Before that, the government had formed another commission, headed by former governor of Bangladesh Bank Mohammad Farashuddin.
The government suspended operations of the Jubok in 2006 on allegation of carrying out banking activities illegally by taking deposits from its members.
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