PK Halder willing to come back, refund swindled billions

Proshanta Kumar Halder, popularly known as PK Halder, who allegedly swindled billions from a number of banks and financial institutions and fled the country some months back, has expressed his willingness to return to the country ' under the custody of the court' and refund the money to their rightful owners.

The International Leasing and Financial Services Limited (ILFSL) following its consultation with Halder filed a petition with the High Court in this connection.

The HC bench of Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar heard the petition on Monday, admitted it and issued an order asking the ILFSL to inform the court about his arrival time, date and flight number etc, and then the court would pass further order on the issue.

Halder while officiating as the managing director of Reliance Finance Ltd, a non-bank financial institution, had made his relatives directors of three other leasing companies to swindle money. Together, they had allegedly misappropriated an estimated Tk 35 billion from four NBFIs and left the country last year , the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) found in its enquiry.

The NBFIs are ILFSL, Peoples' Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (PLFSL), Reliance Finance Ltd and FAS Finance and Investment Ltd.

According to investigation officers, Halder created some businesses that existed only on paper. He then took loans using those businesses and got away.

Later, the anti-graft body had frozen as many 83 accounts where the said money had been transferred.

Barrister Mahfuzur Rahman Milon, who appeared in the court on behalf of ILFSL, said Halder recently communicated with the company, saying that he wanted to return to the country under the court custody to pay the money that he had embezzled.

"Then the ILFSL board took a decision to recover the money, embezzled by Halder, by bringing him back to the country. As per the decision, ILFSL decided to file an application with the High Court, seeking its directive to allow him to return to the country under the court custody on condition that he would pay the money that he had embezzled," added the lawyer.

ILFSL would communicate with Halder to know when he would return to the country, and then the company would inform it to the court.

During the hearing, the HC noted that the parties, who had embezzled money from different organisations, should have the scope to pay the money back, and at the same time legal procedure would continue against them, the lawyer also said.

On January 19, the HC imposed ban on all the present shareholder-directors and the top executives of ILFSL, including Halder, on leaving the country.

But before imposing the ban, Halder and his family members had left the country.

Following a petition, filed by some depositors of ILFSL, the HC also directed the authorities concerned not to transfer any of their movable and immovable properties, including stock, cash money and vehicles etc, to any person or entity until disposal of the case, filed with the court in this regard.

The Ministry of Home Affairs secretary was directed to seize passports of all the present shareholder-directors and the top executives of the company as well as to collect their detailed information.

The court also directed the secretary to take necessary steps with utmost priority without squandering any time, so that the aforesaid persons could not leave the country. He was directed to inform the court about the issue within 15 days.

The Bangladesh Bank was directed to issue necessary directives to all the banks and financial institutions of the country, asking them to freeze all the accounts of the shareholder-directors and the top executives of ILFSL.

The persons concerned are - MA Hashem (chairman), M Nurul Alam (director and managing director of Shaw Wallace Bangladesh Ltd), MD Zahirul Alam, FCA (independent director), Nasim Anwar, FCA (independent director), Bashudeb Banerjee (independent director), Papia Banarjee (independent director), Momtaz Begum (independent director), Md Nowsherul Islam (independent director), Md Anwarul Kabir (independent director), and Engineer Md Nuruzzaman (independent director).

The list also included the names of Muhammad Abul Hashem (independent director), Rashedul Haque (managing director of the company), and PK Halder and his relatives, namely, mother - Lilaboti Halder, brother - Pritish Kumar Halder, wife - Susmita Saha, cousins - Amitav Adhikari and Avijit Adhikari, ex-managing director of Bank Asia Limited Erfanuddin Ahmed, and one Uzzal Kumar Nondi.