BB stops FAS Finance MD’s US trip

Bangladesh Bank yesterday refused to allow FAS Finance and Investment Ltd Managing Director Pritish Kumar Sarker to travel to the US.

The non-bank financial institution, which has faced a wide-range of financial scams in recent period, is being scanned by the central bank.

Bangladesh Bank asked Pritish not to travel abroad before the first meeting of the reconstituted board of FAS and minutes of the meeting were prepared.

The "embargo" on Pritish's travelling abroad could be extended, said a central bank official, seeking anonymity.

Prashanta Kumar Halder alias PK Halder and his associates swindled Tk 1,300 crore from FAS Finance in the name of several companies that exist on paper only, according to a recent investigation carried by the Anti-Corruption Commission.

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) reconstituted FAS Finance board on May 31.

The regulatory decision to resolve the NBFI's board was taken due to its failure to comply with the rules that says at least 30 percent shares must be held by sponsor-directors.

The BSEC nominated five independent directors for FAS Finance.

The previous board granted an 18-day leave to Pritish on May 6 for his personal travel to the US.

He subsequently sought approval from the central bank on June 3 for the travelling as per the BB regulation.

But the central bank yesterday rejected the plea "in the interest of the depositors and the NBFI", according to a BB letter sent to the company.

A central bank official said the banking regulator usually gave approval to such leave, but it had taken the rare decision, considering the ongoing sensitive condition of the lender.

The newly reconstituted board, which started their job on June 1, also requested Pritish, who joined FAS Finance in January 2018, not to travel abroad at this moment, said a board of member of FAS Finance.

Mohammed Nurul Amin, the new chairman of FAS Finance, said the leave, which was granted by the previous board, had been cancelled in line with the central bank's decision.

Contacted, Pritish, however, said he had cancelled the trip himself as the BSEC had recently reconstituted the board.

The ACC has found that PK Halder, who is believed to be in Canada, took loans from FAS Finance in the name of 22 companies.

Some 20 out of the 22 companies of PK Halder, which managed loans from FAS Finance, existed only on papers, the graft watchdog said.

The NBFI incurred a net loss of Tk 127 crore in the first nine months of last year in contrast to a net profit of Tk 2.28 year-on-year.