MI Cement, which is listed on the stock exchange, has for a long time provided interest-free loans of over Rs 100 crore to entrepreneurs and managers in various companies. Even if the company has thousands of shareholders or owners, the money is paid without their approval. Through this, six private companies of the directors have been formed.

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) recently fined five directors of the company Tk 10 lakh and Tk 50 lakh for the crime.

According to the financial statements of the financial year 2018-19, the number of shareholders in MI Cement is 26,017. Entrepreneurs and managers have been given interest free money in that company without their approval from this company.

The personal interests of the directors have been rescued by harming the interests of the investors. Even then, the information has been disclosed as financial as the money given is unsecured and there is no specific condition for returning the money.

However, Mazharul Islam, company secretary of MI Cement, claimed that no interest-free loan was given to the company owned by the directors. Advance money has been paid to buy products for the company.

The companies of the managers are there to support our parent cement company. For example, it takes a bag to market cement, we have a separate company for this bag. We paid in advance to take the bag. They (BSEC) call it interest free loan. Now they are not obeying in any way, otherwise there is nothing to do.

He further said that it is not an interest free loan, it is an advance to buy goods. Shareholder approval was not sought as it was not a loan. As we give advance to our other vendors, it is also one of our vendors. If we had given a loan, then the question of approval would have come up

The data review shows that the companies owned by the directors who paid from MI Cement include Crown Power Generation, Crown Polymer Bagging, Crown Cement Concrete and Building Products, Crown Transportation and Logistics, Crown Cement Trading Company and Crown Mariners.

Of these, only Crown Power Generation, Crown Polymer Bagging and Crown Mariners were formed till 2009-10. Crown Cement Trading Company, Crown Cement Concrete and Building Products and Crown Transportation and Logistics were formed in the 2010-11 financial year.