The government will sell properties belonging to Nassa Group chairman Nazrul Islam Mazumder to pay the company’s workers, after the embattled businessman signed a draft power of attorney from jail.

Mazumder signed the document on Friday, a day before a labour ministry deadline. The ministry confirmed the development in a statement, saying the move would ease payment of current salaries.

The assets include a plot in Gulshan, five bighas of land and a seven-storey building in Ashulia, 10 bighas in Narayanganj’s Char Chengakandi, his company shares worth Tk 860 million, and a Rajuk plot in Dhaka.

Nassa Group employs over 30,000 people in textiles and garments, as well as having interests in banking and real estate. Protests erupted last month in Ashulia as workers demanded unpaid wages, with roads blocked near its factories.

The group, paralysed since last August’s regime change, has seen its factories closed and unpaid bank loans run into thousands of crores. It has sought new credit facilities to restart operations, but banks have been reluctant, given its defaults.

Labour ministry officials said investigations traced Mazumder’s properties in Dhaka, Thakurgaon, and Dubai, including a palm garden, resort, and nearly 40 hectares of land.

Earlier this year, the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit revealed that he also owns assets worth £43.23 million in the UK.

Adviser M Sakhawat Hussain warned that if Nassa fails to pay wages, legal action will follow, including cancellation of the chairman’s family passports.