PK Haldar interrogation reveals names of several influential Bangladeshis and Indians

The custody of PK Haldar and his five accomplices, who fled Bangladesh after embezzling Tk 35 billion, has been extended for another 15 days. With this order, Justice Jiban Kumar Sadhu of the Special Central Investigation Agency (CBI) court in Kolkata said on Tuesday that the accused would have to appear in court again on 20 July. PK Haldar’s two lawyers Ali Haider and Somnath Ghosh were not present in the court Tuesday.

Enforcement Directorate (ED) lawyer Arijit Chakraborty later told the media that the interrogation of PK Haldar and his associates had revealed the names of several influential people in India. Probably their names will also be in the charge-sheet. It is learned that names of some influential people of Bangladesh also came to the fore.

The charge-sheet will be filed in the court in the next few weeks and it might be presented at the court on 20 July, Chakraborty said. PK Haldar and his associates have been charged under the Anti-Corruption Act of 1988 and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act of 2002.

PK Haldar was arrested on 14 May from the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), an agency investigating financial corruption in India. They also arrested five associates of PK Haldar.

Prior to his arrest, the ED found several properties in different parts of the state, including PK Haldar's luxurious house.

On 7 June, the ED told the court that they had found 88 bank accounts in PK Haldar’s name and his associates in different parts of India, including West Bengal. The ED also told the court that PK Haldar and his associates had assets worth Tk 3 billion.