Laundering Tk 782cr: Halder prime accused in 10 graft cases

The Anti-Corruption Commission has filed 10 cases against 37 people, including former managing director of now-defunct NRB Global Bank PK Halder, for laundering about Tk 782 crore of International Leasing and Financial Services Limited (ILFSL).

Proshanta Kumar Halder, also known as PK Halder, is the prime accused in all the cases.

He took loans from financial institutions against at least two dozen non-existent companies created by him. In some cases, he used part of the funds to repay instalments of loans taken against his several fictitious firms.

PK Halder put his men at the helm of the financial institutions so that he could easily take loans from those and misappropriate the funds.

The anti-graft watchdog has, meanwhile, requested the Special Branch of police to take measures to prevent 45 people, including former chairman of Peoples' Leasing and Financial Services (PLFS) Capt (retd) Moazzam Hossain, from going abroad for their alleged involvement in money laundering, said ACC Secretary Anwar Hossain Howlader yesterday.

According to the case statements, Kolasin laundered Tk 60 crore, Lipro International Tk 174 crore, Wintel International Tk 68.5 crore, Ookayama Tk 87.6 crore, Earthscope Tk 98.91 crore, Nuetrical Tk 60 crore, RB Enterprise Tk 55 crore, Imexco Tk 58 crore, Drinan Apparels Tk 60 crore and Konika Enterprise Tk 60 crore.

Investigators found that these organisations were fictitious and existed only on paper. Using these fictitious organisations, PK Halder took out the money from ILFSL under the disguise of loan.

Rashedul Haque, former managing director of ILFSL, had played a major role in disbursing the loan, sources said.

In January, the ACC lodged five cases against PK Halder and 32 others for laundering about Tk 350 crore of ILFSL.

Meanwhile, the anti-graft body has issued notices upon 33 aides of PK Halder asking them to submit their wealth statements.

On January 24, the ACC arrested Rashedul and Chairman of PLFS Uzzal Nandi in connection with the graft cases filed in January.

Both Rashedul and Uzzal in their confessional statements admitted that they had disbursed crores of taka as loan to a number of non-existent companies as per PK Halder's directive.

Apart from allegedly misappropriating about Tk 2,500 crore from ILFSL, PK Halder and his accomplices face allegations of laundering about Tk 2,200 crore from FAS Finance, Tk 3,000 crore from PLFS and Tk 2,500 crore from Reliance Finance between 2009 and 2019.

Halder came under the spotlight during the anti-casino drives in the country in 2019.

Contacted last month, PLFS former chairman Moazzam rejected the allegation of laundering money.