A mobile court yesterday sentenced Mir Mohammad Hossain, director of Mir Group, to a one-month jail term and imposed a fine of Tk. 1 lakh for price manipulation. Three employees of the company were also fined for coercing traders to buy their product.
The company allegedly created an artificial shortage of sugar by selling it at higher prices, coercing traders to buy their product in wholesale markets in Khatungonj.
The mobile court yesterday imposed a fine of Tk. 20 lakh on Jane Alam, sales manager, and fined two employees—Abul Kashem and Kanchan Majumder—Tk. 50,000 each.
The court was conducted by Tahmilur Rahman, the executive magistrate of the Chittagong district administration, with the help of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB).
“We have sentenced Mir Mohammad Hossain, the owner of Mir Group, to one month in jail and fined him Tk. 1 lakh for forcing traders to buy their products. The sales manager was fined Tk. 20 lakh and two employees were also fined,” said Tahmilur Rahman, the executive magistrate.
“Traders levelled allegations that the Mir Group and its sister concern, Ibnan Group, were binding them in a new contract. We conducted a drive and found that the company had forced traders to buy 32 litres of mustard oil of their own brand with five sacks of sugar. As their brand of mustard oil is unfamiliar in the market, traders couldn’t sell them. So, to cover the price of the oil, retailers sell sugar at higher prices,” said Tahmilur.
The mobile court detained Abdus Salam, managing director of Mir Group, and the sales manager on June 8 and fined the company Tk. 20 lakh for price manipulation. They were, however, released on the same day.
The mobile court found that the company was making a profit of Tk. 12 per kg of sugar in the wholesale market.
After verifying the documents, the mobile court discovered that the Mir Group purchased sugar at Tk. 46.80 per kg and sold it at Tk. 58.50 per kg.