Citycell has requested National Bank to pull back its gambit to sell off the mobile operator's office space in the capital's Mohakhali area as part of the efforts to recover Tk 454.45 crore of unpaid loans.

Last month, the private commercial bank ran a newspaper advertisement requesting bids by June 15 to purchase the 38,800 square feet floor and 5.04 decimal of land that currently serves as the operator's head office.

“We found no interested bidder,” said an official of the bank. The bank is yet to decide whether it will call for another round of bids.

“Citycell owners are out of the country now. They requested us to go for a payment arrangement,” he added. Earlier, Faisal Morshed Khan, son of Citycell Chairman Morshed Khan, also said they are in talks with the bank on the issue and would pay off the loans shortly.

Recently, the telecom regulator recommended the government to cancel the licence of the operator for not paying dues.

The telecom division has forwarded the recommendation of Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission to the Prime Minister for a final nod, said a top official of the telecom division.

In October last year, the BTRC brought down the curtains on Citycell over dues amounting to Tk 477 crore pertaining to spectrum and licence fees, revenue sharing and late penalty.

After the cancellation of its spectrum, Citycell had paid Tk 230.19 crore to the BTRC along with Tk 14 crore as tax to the National Board of Revenue, according to documents.

Citycell disputes the amount claimed by the BTRC, so the High Court formed a committee to settle the matter. The committee has submitted its report recently.

Faisal Khan said the company has paid the BTRC's dues and would gradually pay back the bank loans.

Recently, a group of employees served a legal notice on Citycell over mounting amount of unpaid salaries and other benefits.

Shareholders have been trying to sell the operator's licence for the last few years, but it did not happen.

Citycell, which began operations in 1993, has been out of service since October last year.

Singapore's SingTel owns 44.54 percent shares in Citycell while Pacific Motors owns 37.95 percent and Far East Telecom 17.51 percent.