PK Halder seeks assurances over safety before returning home
The application did not mention from which country he wants to return
Prashant Kumar Halder (PK Halder), director of International Leasing and Financial Services Limited, has applied to the High Court seeking assurances for his safety prior to his return to Bangladesh.
In the application, he also expressed a desire to discuss returning investor's money. He has allegedly embezzled and laundered about Tk3,500 crore of investors' money.
Although the application did not mention from which country he wants to return to Bangladesh, sources concerned said PK Halder is in Canada now.
Barrister Mahfuzur Rahman Milon filed the petition on behalf of PK Halder in the High Court bench of Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar on Monday (September 7).
Later, during the hearing of the application, the court directed PK Halder's lawyer to inform the court about the details about PK Halder's arrival–when and by which flight he wants to come to the country.
The court said it would issue an order following the law after hearing the views of the state's lawyers and the lawyers of the Anti-Corruption Commission.
The court also mentioned PK Halder must be in the custody of the law after coming to the country.
On January 21, the High Court ordered the seizure of all assets, bank accounts and passports of 19 people, including PK Halder, in connection with the smuggling of around Tk36 billion.
Others accused are: the company's Managing Director M Nurul Alam, Zahirul Alam, Nasim Anwar, Basudeb Banerjee, Papia Banerjee, Momtaz Begum, Nowsherul Islam, Anwarul Kabir, engineer Naruzzaman, Abul Hashem, Rashedul Haque, PK Haldar's mother Lilasati Haldar, his brother Pritush Kumar Haldar, his cousin Amitabh Adhikari, Abhijit Adhikari, his friend Ujjwal Kumar Nandi, and former director of Bank Asia Irfan Uddin Ahmed.
A single High Court bench of Justice Mohammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar passed the order, in response to an application by two investors in International Leasing and Financial Services Limited.
According to reports published in various newspapers, PK Halder squandered at least Tk3,500 crore from various financial institutions while holding important positions in them. Later, he left the country.
First, he was the managing director at Reliance Finance and later at NRB Global Bank.
PK Halder absconded before Mamunur Rashid, assistant director of the Anti-Corruption Commission, filed a case against him over embezzling around Tk265 crore.