Opgenhaffen Holdings' rejoinder and our reply
Opgenhaffen Holdings Bangladesh has sent a rejoinder on behalf of its stakeholder Javed Opgenhaffen to The Business Standard regarding a report headlined "A 'million-dollar' wedding and the death of an unpaid RMG worker", published on 4 November 2024. It claimed Opgenhaffen "has no directorship or shareholding in the company "Generation Next Fashions" and "has not been associated with the company either through ownership or directorship since 2014."
The Business Standard's report clearly mentioned that Javed Opgenhaffen is a "former director" of Generation Next Fashions, which is Javed's family-owned garment factory with his father as its chairman as per the information from the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE).
The apparel association BGMEA's database still shows Opgenhaffen as Generation Next Fashions shareholder along with his father's second wife Sadia Muna Tasneen.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
Javed Opgenhaffen is a vice chairman of A.J. Corporation, which has 7% stake in Generation Next Fashions, according to DSE data and A.J. Corporation's website, which reads "Javed is also…Vice Chairman of A.J. Corporation Limited, and former Managing Director at Generation Next Fashions Limited…"
Javed's father Tauhidul Islam Chaudhury is a sponsor director with a 5.13% stake at this garment factory and chairman of A.J. Corporation, according to DSE and the Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC).
So, the claim made in the rejoinder that "Mr. Opgenhaffen has not been associated with the company" does not stand correct.
The rejoinder, forwarded on 05 November on behalf of SS Steel Limited by its Advisor Md Mostafizur Rahman, also claims that Javed Opgenhaffen has various investments in Bangladesh, generating revenues around Tk5,000 crore per annum, employing thousands and paying as much as Tk400 crore in electric and gas bills.
These statements in the rejoinder are not relevant to the TBS report since it does not have anything about Javed's other businesses, investment or revenue generations.
The rejoinder also claims that The Business Standard article is "testament to yellow journalism, especially by defaming his personal life which has no connection to his businesses".
The TBS report has cited a lavish public event, which was also featured in several global media including Vouge, just as a reference as the high-profile wedding ceremony involved the former director of a once reputed clothing company that now fails to pay its workers, leading to the death of a worker during a recent protest for wage arrears for months. As is mentioned in the rejoinder too, the TBS report has tried to reveal why the company that "fared well until 2023" suddenly sank in the red and went out of business.
Therefore, the report was in no way intended to defame anyone's personal life.
