PK Halder amasses Tk 9.33b in 10 yrs

The former managing director (MD) of Global Islami Bank (former NRB bank) Proshanta Kumar (PK) Halder bought land, flat and hotel in names and without names in Dhaka, Narayanganj, Narsingdi and different areas of the country for Tk 9.33 billion.

Iftekharuzzaman, executive director of Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB), said it was not possible for PK Halder alone to amass this amount of wealth in such a short span of time.

He told Prothom Alo that the ACC should also find out those who have become the owners of PK Halder's illegal assets in just a few years. They also have to face trial.

Apart from this, he laundered Tk 800 million to Canada, according to a charge sheet submitted by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) in the court.

ACC says PK Halder, came from a middle-lower class family in Pirojpur, amassed this wealth in a span of 10 years [between 2009 and 2019]. His legal income is only Tk 120 million.

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 PK Halder fled the country without paying loans, these institutions are now unable to return their customers’ money.

While absconding, the ACC filed a case against him on 8 January 2020 on charges of money laundering and amassing wealth illegally worth about Tk 2.75 billion.

The ACC has submitted a charge sheet against 14 people including PK Halder, his mother, brother and close relatives in this case, which will be produced before the court on 20 February.

Halder’s cousin Shangkha Bepari, close associates Sukumar Mridha, Anindita Mridha and Avantika Baral were arrested in this case and made confessional statements before the court. However, 10 accused, including PK Halder, his mother and brother, are on the run.

ACC deputy director Md Salauddin, also the investigation officer of the case, told Prothom Alo on Tuesday that the assets that PK Halder has made in names and without names have been highlighted in the chargesheet submitted in the court. The current market value of those assets will not be less than Tk 9.33 billion.

As per the ACC chargesheet, PK Halder has purchased a total of 6,790 decimals of land in names and without names in Dhaka, Narayanganj, Narsingdi and different parts of the country. Although the market value of these assets was shown at about Tk 3.92 billion, the current value is Tk 9.33 billion.

He bought 4,174 decimals of land in his name, whose monetary value was shown at about 680 million. Now, the current price of this portion of land is Tk 2.28 billion. Apart from this, he has two flats in Dhanmondi.

According to the chargesheet, PK Halder had built a building in Uttara for his close relative Purnima Rani Halder, whose market value is Tk 120 million. He also bought 109 decimals of land in Tejgaon, Tejturi Bazar and Green Road in Dhaka for Purnima's brother Uttam Kumar. The market value of this land is Tk two billion.

PK Halder built an eight-storey hotel (known as Radisson) on two acres of land in Cox's Bazar in the name of Clewiston Foods, whose monetary value is Tk 2.40 billion.

Besides, he purchased 404 decimals of land for his cousins ​​Amitav Adhikari and Ananga Mohan Roy in Dhaka and Narayanganj at Tk 1.67 billion.

Citing data from the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) and the Canadian Financial Intelligence Unit, the ACC report said that between 2012 and 2020, PK Halder swindled about Tk 800 million [Canadian dollar 117,111,164] to his brother Pritish Halder.

*This report appeared in the print and online edition of Prothom Alo and has been rewritten in English by NH Sajjad