Haltrip scandal ringleader Tajbir Hasan arrested at Dhaka airport

Law enforcement agencies arrested Mohammad Tajbir Hasan, managing director of controversial travel company Haltrip and a close associate of PK Halder, at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in the early hours of Saturday.

Confirming the matter, Rafiqul Islam, inspector (investigation) of Airport Police Station, said that immigration authorities detained Tajbir and handed him over to the airport police.

“Tajbir was shown arrested under section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure and produced before a Dhaka court on Saturday,” he said.

Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Md Rakibul Hossain later sent the accused to jail, while the remand petition filed by police is scheduled to be heard on 14 October, prosecutor Kaium Hossain Nayan said.

Tajbir, who had been on the run since 2020 after allegedly embezzling hundreds of crores of taka from passengers and travel agencies, was detained in a special operation soon after his arrival in Dhaka.

Officials confirmed that he had entered Bangladesh on September 24 using a Turkish passport.

Haltrip collapsed in early 2020 after suddenly disappearing with clients’ money, leaving scores of travellers and agencies defrauded. Tajbir fled the country in January that year, later acquiring dual citizenship in Turkey and Vanuatu, as well as residence permits in Malta and Spain’s Golden Visa programme, journalist Zulkarnain Saer shared the information in a Facebook post.

Investigators said he invested heavily in real estate projects in Dubai, Spain and Malta, often acting as a front for Bangladeshi political figures. He also reportedly facilitated citizenship purchases in Turkey and Vanuatu for politicians, businessmen and government officials.

In his Facebook post, Zulkarnain Saer called on individuals and institutions defrauded by Haltrip to approach law enforcement agencies to pursue legal remedies.