Jubok victims to be paid back: Muhith

The government plans to pay back the money of those clients cheated by Jubok, said Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Tuesday.

“Help should be extended to those cheated by Jubok,” Muhith told reporters after Jubok Commission chairman M Rafiqul Islam met him at his secretariat office.

The Finance Minister said he had suggested the commission to go ahead with the plan to help the cheated clients. He, however, said the government would consider further to select the exact method of returning the money. “If arbitration is a good method, we’ll do that.”

It will not be possible to clear the full claims of the Jubok clients, Muhith said adding that going for filing cases will not ultimately benefit the affected clients as it will take too much time.

The two-member Jubok Commission was formed in March last with its office at the House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC) building.

Muhith said unlike other ‘hai hai’ (deceitful) companies, Jubok had created some assets after taking money from its clients. “Their (Jubok) liabilities could be met from these assets,” he added.

He said the Jubok Commission chairman had advised him to resolve the problem through arbitration apart from raising its manpower problem.

The government gave the commission two years’ time to pay back the money to those cheated by Jubok, but the Commission chairman said they might need more time to do the job.

The Finance Minister said the cheated Jubok clients are crowding the Commission Office regularly seeking quick return of their plundered money which is hampering their work. “But, this is not easily as their (Jubok) assets are frozen.”

Replying to another question that Jubok is selling out their property secretly defying the government directives, Muhith dismissed the allegation. May be there is a few instances and it is the nature of the country, he said.

The Finance Minister said the country has been seeing the ‘hai hai’ companies since British period and the authorities now refrained from providing licenses to such companies.