The commerce ministry has removed Md Ali Afzal from the post of president of the Real Estate and Housing Association of Bangladesh (REHAB) after he was identified as a loan defaulter. The organisation’s presidency has simultaneously been declared vacant.
The decision was announced Monday in a notification signed by Chowdhury Samia Yasmin, deputy secretary of the commerce ministry’s Trade Organisation-2 branch.
The office order has been sent to the ministry’s website, relevant departments, the FBCCI, and REHAB’s office.
The notification said that, according to a Bangladesh Bank Credit Information Bureau (CIB) report, Md Ali Afzal has been identified as a defaulter in his capacity as director of a loan-defaulting company. As a result, his presidency has been declared vacant under section 23(1)(b) of the Trade Organisations Act, 2022.
The relevant section of that law states that a person who is a loan defaulter, or has not paid up-to-date tax, VAT or customs duties, cannot contest election to the executive committee or board of any trade organisation, nor hold any post there. If a person is listed as a loan or tax defaulter after being elected, the post will be deemed vacant if the outstanding amount is not paid within 180 days.
Amid allegations and counter-allegations surrounding REHAB’s election, Ali Afzal was elected president on April 18. The chairman of Glorious Lands and Developments, who ran on the progressive panel, won with 232 votes.
His closest rival was Wahiduzzaman, the organisation’s then outgoing president and a candidate from the Real Estate Businessmen’s Unity Council panel, who received 193 votes.
Commerce ministry public relations officer Kamal Hossain said the ministry’s Trade Organisation-2 branch sent a letter to REHAB’s senior vice-president on Monday informing them of the decision. Once the presidency is vacant, the organisation’s next steps will proceed according to the relevant rules.