Interpol issues red notice against PK Halder
International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) on Friday issued a red notice against Prashanta Kumar Halder, the man who left the country after reportedly amassing at least Tk 36 billion, reports news agency UNB.
Police headquarters assistant inspector general (media) Md Sohel Rana confirmed this to the news agency.
A red notice alerts police worldwide about internationally wanted fugitives, but it is not an arrest warrant.
The notice is a request to law enforcement worldwide to locate and provisionally arrest a person pending extradition, surrender, or similar legal action, Interpol says.
However, such notices help bring fugitives to justice, sometimes many years after the original crime was committed. Interpol issued 13,377 red notices in 2019.
On Monday, Bangladesh Police requested Interpol to issue the alert against PK Halder.
“The issuance of red notice follows judicial proceedings in the country issuing the request. This is not always the home country of the individual, but the country where the crime was committed,” Interpol says.
Also, every red notice request is checked by a specialised task force to ensure it is compliant with Interpol rules.
On 19 November last year, the High Court asked the government about steps it was taking to bring back former International Leasing and Finance Service director PK Halder.
On 7 September, Halder filed an appeal seeking permission for his safe return to the country.
He is accused of illegally amassing at least Tk 36 billion and laundering the money abroad while working as the director of International Leasing and Finance in Dhaka.
On 8 January, the Anti-Corruption Commission also filed a case against him for amassing wealth of nearly Tk 2.75 billion beyond his known sources of income.
However, Halder said in his appeal that he wanted to come back to Bangladesh to help the authorities recover the amassed money and sought security upon his return.
On 22 January, the High Court ordered the government to seize the properties of Halder and 19 others – including his mother, wife and brother – along with freezing their bank accounts and revoking their passports.
Also, upon hearing the appeals of seven International Leasing and Finance investors, the court imposed restrictions on their foreign travel. However, Halder managed to flee to Canada.