Court starts recording deposition against PK Halder, 14 others
The court has started recording depositions against the former managing director (MD) of Global Islami Bank PK Halder and 14 others in a case filed over money laundering and amassing wealth beyond the undisclosed sources.
The plaintiff of the lawsuit, Mamunur Rashid, deputy director of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), gave his deposition on Thursday.
Dhaka special judge court-10 judge Mohammad Nazrul Islam set 13 October for next hearing.
Mir Ahmed Ali, public prosecutor of ACC, confirmed the matter to Prothom Alo.
Earlier, the court framed charge sheet on 8 September against 14, including PK Halder in the case.
Of the accused, 10, including PK Halder, are absconding while four are in prison. PK Halder, however, has been arrested in West Bengal of India.
On Thursday, the four arrestees -- PK Halder’s cousin Shangkha Bepari, close associate Sukumar Mridha, Anindita Mridha and Abontika Baral -- were produced before the court.
The absconding accused include PK Halder’s mother Lilabati Halder, brother Pritish Kumar Halder, his associates Amitabh Adhikari, Purnima Rani Halder, Uttam Kumar Mistri, Razib Shome, Subrata Das, Ananga Mohan Roy and Swapan Kumar Mistri.
According to the charge sheet filed by ACC, PK Halder bought plots, flats and hotels worth Tk 9.33 billion at different places across country including Dhaka, Narayanganj and Narsingdi with or without providing his correct identity. Besides, he has siphoned off about Tk 800 million to Canada.
ACC says, PK Halder, who came from a lower middle class family of Pirojpur district, accumulated huge amount of assets within just 10 years (2009-2019). All of his legal earnings stands at Tk 120 million only.
He took loans of Tk 35 billion from four financial institutions— International Leasing and Financial Services Limited, People’s Leasing and Financial Services, FAS Finance and Investment Limited and Bangladesh Industrial Finance Company (BIFC).
At first, he started controlling these institutions through purchasing shares and took loans later. This financial scam came to fore at the beginning of 2020, months after the departure of PK Halder from the country as he fled the country towards the end of 2019.
Quoting Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) and Canadian Financial Intelligence Unit, ACC report says, PK Halder siphoned off more than 11.7 million (1,711,164) Canadian dollars to his brother Pritish Halder in between 2012 to 2020.
Enforcement Directorate (ED), India's financial corruption investigation agency, arrested PK Halder from West Bengal's North Chabbish Pargana on last 14 May. They also arrested five associates of PK Halder.
Before the arrest, the ED found many assets including PK Halder's luxury house in different parts of the state. He is under trial there.
On 7 June, the ED told the court that they had found 88 bank accounts of PK Haldar and his associates in various parts of India including West Bengal. The ED also told the court that PK Halder and his associates received assets worth Rs 3 billion.