ACC files another case against PK Halder

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a new lawsuit against PK Halder, former managing director (MD) of NRB Global Bank and Reliance Finance Limited, and 11 others on allegations of misappropriating Tk44 crore.

Md Rakibul Hayat, assistant director of ACC, filed the case on Thursday.

According to the case statement, the accused people used fraudulent means to embezzle Tk44 crore from FAS Finance and Investment Limited under the name of Diya Shipping Limited, which is allegedly a non-existent entity.

Besides PK Halder, the other accused in the case are former managing director of Diya Shipping Limited Shiv Prasad Banerjee, director Papia Banerjee, FAS Finance and Investment Chairman MA Hafeez, former chairman Md Siddiqur Rahman and Vice-Chairman Md Jahangir Alam, Director Arun Kumar Kundu, Anjan Kumar Roy, Md Mostain Billah, Ujjal Kumar Nandi, Satya Gopal Poddar and former managing director and chief executive officer of FAS Finance Russell Shahriar.

Earlier on 15 February, former MD of FAS Finance Russell Shahriar, one of the accused in the case, was arrested from the capital's Mohammadpur by a team led by investigating officer ACC Deputy Director Gulshan Anwar Pradhan. He is now in jail.

According to the ACC, PK Halder has swindled at least Tk11,000 crore from various organisations.

Sources at the ACC said the amount of swindled money they so far learned about during the investigation of the case may increase.

PK Halder has embezzled around Tk3,500 crore from ILFSL, Tk2,200 crore from FAS Finance, Tk2,500 crore from Reliance Finance and Tk3,000 crore from People's Leasing.

Sources at the anti-graft body further said that they had also identified more Tk1,500 crore which they said would be frozen.

PK Halder had been in hiding for several years until he got arrested in India's West Bengal on 14 May. According to India's Financial Intelligence Unit, PK Halder had been living there using a fake identity.

PK Halder is currently on remand ordered by an Indian court.