A Dhaka court has issued arrest warrants against fugitive businessman Prashanta Kumar Halder, known as PK Halder, and 11 others after taking cognisance of a chargesheet filed in a corruption case over the alleged embezzlement of Tk83.84 crore.
Dhaka Metropolitan Senior Special Judge Md Shahjahan Kabir passed the order on Thursday after accepting the Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC) chargesheet against 18 accused, including the former managing director of NRB Global Bank and Reliance Finance Limited.
PK Halder, who is currently in custody in India, and the other 11 accused are absconding. The court fixed 1 September for submitting a report on the execution of the arrest warrants, said court sources.
The other accused facing arrest warrants are Md Nurul Alam, Nasim Anwar, Md Nuruzzaman, Mohammad Abul Hashem, MA Hashem, Jahirul Alam, Md Nawsherul Islam, Rashedul Haque, Al Mamun Sohag, Rafiqul Islam Khan and Morzina Begum.
Five other accused named in the chargesheet – Shankha Bepari, Basudev Banerjee, Papia Banerjee, Nahida Runai and Rafsan Riyad Chowdhury -are currently in jail.
According to the case documents, the accused allegedly used fake documents and a fabricated company named “Moon Enterprise” to secure a fraudulent loan from International Leasing and Financial Services Limited.
The ACC alleged that the accused, in collusion with officials and board members of the financial institution, prepared false loan papers and withdrew Tk83.84 crore in the name of the non-existent company before misappropriating the money.
The case statement also alleged that the funds were transferred and converted through multiple bank accounts involving different companies and individuals as part of a money laundering scheme.
The accused have been charged under sections 420, 468, 471, 409 and 109 of the Penal Code, Section 5(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, and Sections 4(2) and 4(3) of the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012.
The ACC filed the case on 25 January, 2021, against 18 people following an investigation by ACC Assistant Director Afnan Jannat Keya.
She later submitted the chargesheet against the accused on 20 April.
PK Halder came into the spotlight after allegations surfaced that he had siphoned off thousands of crores of taka from several financial institutions.
After leaving Bangladesh, he allegedly changed his identity and settled in West Bengal, India.
India’s Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him from a residence in Ashoknagar, North 24 Parganas district, on 14 May, 2022.
He has remained in custody in India since then. The ED also arrested six others at the time in connection with alleged money laundering and corruption cases.
