Arrest warrant issued against ex-foreign minister Morshed Khan

A Dhaka money loan court has issued an arrest warrant against former foreign minister M Morshed Khan, who is also the founder and chairman of Citycell, in a loan recovery case brought by Mutual Trust Bank (MTB) PLC.

Warrants have also been issued against four more officials of Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited (PBTL), the defunct mobile operator known as Citycell.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

They are Directors Asghar Karim and Nasreen Khan; Acting Chief Financial Officer Md Farikul Hasan, listed as grantor; and its CEO Mehboob Chowdhury.

Artha Rin Adalat No. 7 issued the warrants on September 23 in a Money Execution Case under Section 34(1) of the Artha Rin Adalat Ain, 2003.

The provision allows civil detention of up to six months for a judgment debtor who fails to satisfy a decree.

The court directed the officer-in-charge of Gulshan Police Station, through the Dhaka Metropolitan Police commissioner, to arrest them and produce them in court by November 18.

The warrants give their address as Pacific Centre, Mohakhali C/A. The documents do not state the outstanding amount.

Because this is an execution case, a decree has already been passed and the bank is now enforcing it.

Detention under Section 34 is a coercive measure meant to compel repayment, not a punishment.

PBTL, Bangladesh's first mobile operator, ceased operations in 2016 after failing to pay dues ordered by the telecom regulator. It was named in parliament among the country's top 20 loan defaulters as of December 2025.

MTB has said it will use all legal avenues to recover classified loans. After failing to repay the loans, the bank filed a case with the Money Loan Court on July 5, 2018, seeking Tk 68.76 crore in outstanding dues.

Syed Mahbubur Rahman, managing director and CEO of Mutual Trust Bank, said that the bank wants to recover the money in any way.

“Nobody is above the law, so we will take legal action against loan defaulters, especially wilful defaulters,” he added.

“This is depositors’ money, which is why we will have to recover it,” said Rahman, adding that the bank is now taking several legal actions, such as seeking arrest warrants and travel bans against wilful defaulters.