Liquidating co assets one of Sonali’s options

The Hallmark-scam deadlock will be resolved by next year, either by liquidating its assets or setting up special economic zone on the mortgaged land, says Sonali Bank whose huge money got stuck.

Officials of the country’s largest state-owned commercial bank are hopeful that around Tk25 to 30 billion would be recovered from the assets if sold out.

“We have been able to bring assets, including lands, in our possession through court verdict related to Hallmark case,” said the bank’s MD and CEO, Md Ataur Rahman, at a press conference arranged Wednesday on the occasion of celebration of the bank’s 50 years in operation.

Replying to a question at the press meet at the bank’s headquarters in Dhaka, Mr Rahman said the scam was a “shock” for the bank and it learnt a lesson from the loan fraud.

“There hasn’t been any scam since Hallmark scam due to improvement in our governance,” the MD said.

The amount embezzled by the upstart company, Hallmark, has been determined to be Tk35.46 billion taken out from the then Ruposhi Bangla Hotel branch of the Sonali Bank (now hotel InterContinental Dhaka) between 2010 and 2012.

Of the amount, Tk18.37 billion is funded and Tk17.09 billion non-funded.

The Anti-Corruption Commission has filed around 50 cases against Hallmark for the funded portion of the case.

However, he…