Nuher Latif Khan, hailed by The Daily Star last year as one of the top ‘high-achieving young entrepreneurs’ in Bangladesh, has sued Annisul Huq of Mohammadi Group, which runs a few readymade garments factories. Khan and his sister are seeking protection entitled to minority shareholders in a limited company.
Nuher Khan, in his petition, says Annisul Huq and his family “have resorted to outright threats, intimidation and bullying tactics to the point of forcing the petitioner out of the office” and then he was removed as the Managing Director on Mar 23 of Desh Energy with a portfolio of 110 megawatts.
“The Board Resolution mandated that the Company’s bank account would be operated under joint signatures from any one of the members of the designated Group A, consisting of Respondent Nos. 2 (Annisul Huq) and 3 (his son Navidul Huq), and Group B, consisting of the petitioner and his sister. Despite such a resolution and instructions to the Company’s bank, Respondent Nos. 2 and 3 withdrew an amount of Tk. 28,00,000.00 without the petitioner’s signature on the cheque,” said the petition filed on Monday.
Justice Md. Rezaul Hasan, who presides over the High Court’s company bench, heard the petition on Tuesday morning and ordered that a notice be issued.
The two siblings, the petitioners, were represented by Senior Advocate and Barrister, Akhtar Imam, assisted by Barrister Rashna Imam and Barrister Reshad Imam.
“The petitioners are apprehensive that if Annisul Huq continues to mismanage the company at this rate, very soon the company will not be able to meet its liabilities to the banks, leading to the banks liquidating the personal guarantees given by the petitioners,” the lawyers said in a statement after the hearing.
Annisul Huq could not be reached, immediately, for comment. bdnews24.com tried calling him several times on his regular mobile phone number at around 1:30pm, roughly two hours after the hearing ended, but failed to elicit a response.
“The petitioners have also made allegations that Annisul Huq is running Desh Energy as a ‘family business’ and in flagrant violation of the relationship of trust and confidence between the parties, Annisul Huq and his son, most arbitrarily dismissed Nuher Latif Khan from his position as the founding Managing Director, seized his car, stopped his fuel and mobile phone allowances and forced him to leave the Desh Energy premises by resorting to violent threats and bullying tactics to the extent that he feared for his own physical safety and security,” the lawyers said in the press statement.
“Annisul Huq has also refused to buy out the shares of the petitioner. The present situation is such that the petitioners find themselves ‘locked-in’, that is, they are not allowed to take part in management or sell their shares. They are not being paid any dividends or salaries as directors. The petitioners allege that having used and exploited their talent and expertise in the power sector to date, Annisul Huq now wants to discard them without a penny in the most harsh, burdensome and wrongful manner,” the press statement said.
“Given the irretrievable breakdown of the relationship between the parties, the petitioners have sought a court order directing Annisul Huq and his son to buy their shares at a fair value.”
Huq and his son upped their combined stake in the company from 51 percent in 2006 to 60 percent in 2007-08 and finally to 80 percent now. His son Navidul Huq has five percent and Annisul Huq chairs the board.
Khan, then just 21 on his completion of studies at the UK’s prestigious University College London, set up the power company in 2005.
One Md Jahangir Alam had held 50 percent stake, while Nuher 25 percent and his sister Shahpar Sabah 25 percent.
In 2006, Annisul Huq and son Navid became partners and were given 51 percent stake with the understanding that an experienced Huq would invest, support and guide the young entrepreneurs. “Nothing of that sort happened,” said Nuher Khan.
Asked why he did not try an out-of-court settlement, Nuher Latif Khan said it was “impossible to negotiate with this family because Annisul Huq and his wife would often threaten me, harass me and intimidate me”.
“Once I was told by Mr. Annisul Huq that in 1986 he had one man disappear and ‘you know the guy ended up in a grave’,” Khan told bdnews24.com.
“Both of them often warn me not to try to challenge them as they were very influential with the media,” Khan said.
“’We can do anything in the media’, Mr. Annisul Huq told me recently, ‘didn’t you see what I did during the FBCCI elections’,” Nuher Latif Khan said and added he was “obviously referring to his numerous TV appearances”.
“‘Who doesn’t know Annis’, his wife would often tell me, ‘you know he is very very powerful’.” His wife, Rubana Huq, is the Managing Director of the Mohammadi Group.
“Mr Annisul Huq has a terrible habit of recording conversations whether it is on the phone or during meetings, then would edit the same making the entire conversation appear completely out of context,” said Nuher Khan. “Who wants a legal battle? It came only as the last resort.”
In his petition, Nuher gave an account of alleged maltreatment by Annisul Huq.
“The Respondents No. 2 (Annis) and 3 (Navid) continued to harass and bully the Petitioner No. 1 (Nuher) further by stopping his fuel allowance, his cell phone allowance, seizing the company car that was at his disposal, and making false and baseless allegations against him, solely intended to create a false basis for eventually dismissing him from his position as the Managing Director of the company, which was the ulterior motive of the Respondents No. 2 and 3 all along,” the petition to the High Court said.
“The petitioner wrote multiple letters to the Respondent No. 2 (Annis) challenging various decisions taken by the Respondents No. 2 (Annis) and 3 (Navid) arbitrarily and seeking clarification as to why the Petitioner No. 1 (Nuher) being the Managing Director and a Director (Sabah) were being excluded from major management decisions.”
Khan said Annisul Huq ignored all such letters, sent and received officially.
Khan said in his petition that Annisul Huq took management decisions and “the many instances of serious mismanagement” included purchase of cheap spares that damaged the 100-megawatt power plant in Siddhirganj.
“Since they have illegally and arbitrarily usurped control of the management, they have failed to conduct the essential Annual Capacity Tests of the 100 MW to the detriment of the Company,” the petition said.
“Already almost two months have elapsed since the scheduled date of that test. The company’s contract with the BPDB for Supply of Electricity puts the company under a contractual obligation to carry out this test within the scheduled date.”
Nuher Khan said in his petition that he sought an “explanation” from Huq “with regard to this delay” but received no response.
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন