Police have launched efforts to arrest five senior officials and directors of Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited (PBTL), the operator of the now-defunct mobile phone brand Citycell, in connection with a Tk135.32 crore loan recovery case filed by Mutual Trust Bank PLC (MTB).
The arrest warrants were issued by the Artha Rin Adalat No. 7 in Dhaka under Section 34(1) of the Artha Rin Adalat Ain, 2003, following the company’s failure to repay the decretal amount within the stipulated period, according to an MTB statement.
The individuals named in the warrants are Mehboob Chowdhury, chief executive officer of PBTL; Md Morshed Khan, director, founder and chairman of Citycell and a former foreign minister; Nasreen Khan, director; Asghar Karim, director; and Md Farikul Hasan, acting chief financial officer and guarantor.
According to the bank, it filed Artha Rin Suit No. 521/2018 against PBTL and 11 other defendants on July 5, 2018, seeking recovery of outstanding loans.
The 12 defendants included foreign equity partners and corporate guarantors, among them SingTel Asia Pacific Investment Pvt Ltd, Far East Telecom Ltd and Pacific Motors Ltd.
The Artha Rin Adalat No. 7, presided over by Judge Md Farid Uddin, delivered its judgment and decree in favour of MTB on May 13, 2026.
After the judgment-debtors failed to settle the decretal amount within the prescribed period, MTB filed Artha Jari Case No. 810/2026 on July 27, 2026, seeking recovery of Tk135.32 crore, including applicable interest and legal costs.
The execution case is currently pending before the same court.
As part of the enforcement process, the court issued arrest warrants against the five PBTL officials and directors under the relevant provisions of the Artha Rin Adalat Ain.
Police search operation in Gulshan
Acting on the court’s order, Gulshan Police Station conducted a field operation on November 2 to execute the arrest warrant against Asghar Karim, a director of PBTL.
Police visited his residential address in Gulshan but could not locate him after the caretaker informed the officers that he was not present at the property, according to the MTB statement.
The bank said police monitoring and search efforts were continuing to execute the court’s order ahead of the November 18 deadline.
The latest development comes as Bangladesh’s banking sector continues to face pressure from mounting non-performing loans and efforts by lenders to recover long-standing outstanding credit through legal proceedings.
Citycell, once Bangladesh’s first mobile phone operator, ceased operations in 2016 after its spectrum was suspended over unpaid dues to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC).