ILFSL swindlers barred from travelling abroad by SC
The Supreme Court yesterday upheld a higher Court order that banned 20 people, including much-talked Proshanta Kumar Halder, from leaving the united states for allegedly embezzling Tk 3,000 crore from the International Leasing and Financial Services (ILFSL).
A three-member bench of the Appellate Division headed by Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain passed the order after dismissing an appeal filed by two shareholder-directors of the non-bank financial institution challenging the HC order.
Halder, also referred to as PK Halder, a former managing director of NRB Global Bank and Reliance Finance, was involved in the embezzlement, according to media reports. But a central bank investigation put the figure at Tk 1,596 crore.
According to media reports in Canada, PK Halder is residing in Toronto. He is the director of a Canadian corporation P&L Hal Holding Inc. together with his brother Pritish Kumar Halder and wife Susmita Saha since July 3, 2014, according to records in the North American country.
After the SC passed the order, the Bangladesh Bank's lawyer Tanjib-Ul Alam told reporters that it was possible for the federal government to recreate the embezzled money, which includes reportedly been laundered to Canada, through mutual assistance cooperation treaty.
Ahsanul Karim, a attorney for ILFSL, told The Daily Star that the passports of the persons involved with the business would remain seized and Khondker Ibrahim Khaled can run the organisation as its chairman following SC order.
ILFSL has scope to put its appeal prior to the HC to stay afloat, he added.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam represented the state.
Following a petition filed by the two depositors, the HC on January 21 directed the central bank and all private banks to freeze the accounts of PK Halder, his five relatives, Bank Asia's former managing director Erfanudidn Ahmed and Halder's cohort Uzzal Kumar Nondi for allegedly misappropriating the funds.
The HC ordered the federal government to seize the passports of 20 people, including PK Halder, his mother Lilaboti Halder, his brother Pritish, his wife, cousins Amitav Adhikari and Avijit Adhikari, Ahmed and Nondi.
The HC bench of Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar also directed the authorities never to transfer some of their movable and immovable properties, including stock, cash money and cars to any folks or entities before disposal of the case.
The bench appointed Khaled, a former deputy governor of the BB, as the independent director and chairman of ILFSL to run the company.
Within an investigation, the central bank discovered that Tk 1,596 crore was transferred from ILFSL in violation of rules through 48 accounts of varied organisations linked to the directors and shareholders of the NBFI, Md Shah Alam, an executive director of the BB, told the SC on Tuesday.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against Halder on January 8 on charges of amassing assets worth Tk 275 crore.
His name found the limelight through the anti-casino operation. The ACC opened investigation against 43 people, including Halder. He was asked to seem at ACC for interrogation on November 14 this past year. But he never showed up.
The federal government issued a travel ban on him on October 3. But he managed to flee the united states nevertheless.
The four institutions grabbed by PK Halder are ILFSL, People's Leasing and Financial Services, FAS Finance and Investment and Bangladesh Industrial Finance Company.
The authorities in July this past year appointed a liquidator to liquidate Peoples' Leasing because of alarming deterioration of its financial health over the several years.
Halder is also associated with Simtex Industries, Rahman Chemicals and Northern Jute Manufacturing Company.
Loans amounting to Tk 170 crore have been extracted from ILFSL in the names of Simtex, Rahman Chemicals and Northern Jute, documents show.
ILFSL commenced its journey in 1996.
