Fake businessmen joined hands with financial rogues

Some unscrupulous people in the guise of businessmen conspired with rogues of the financial sector to loot the money of general people, said the High Court in an order on the liquidation of People's Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (PLFSL).

It also observed that a vested group was hatching plots to destabilise the economic growth for which the people of the country worked so hard.

The court said it expected all constitutional and statutory bodies, divisions, departments, and directorates to work fast and transparently to prevent the undermining of the economic solvency of the country.

The HC bench of Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar made the observations in the full text of the order after Bangladesh Bank in 2019 sought permission to liquidate People's Leasing, a non-bank financial institution.

The liquidation process began after the board of People's Leasing informed the central bank in April 2019 about its inability to pay back its depositors' money despite maturity of the deposits.

The HC said the situation in People's Leasing resulted in a few hundred depositors and creditors filing petitions with the court.

"When the country is receiving recognition of acquiring financial solvency at the cost of hard work with unquestionable integrity of the head of the government from foreign countries and international bodies, it is really alarming for the nation to notice that a vested group is hatching plots to destabilise the economic growth of the country.'

The HC bench wanted to directly consult with the chairman of Anti-Corruption Commission, governor of Bangladesh Bank and chairman of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) for solutions to the predicaments regarding PLFSL and other financial institutions.

It invited them to attend a virtual meeting with the court at 2:30pm on March 9.

"There shall not be presence of any lawyer or any other person at the time of the proposed conference," Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar said in the full text of order.

It said if one of the three officials are unable to attend the meeting, the others would not be required to attend. Instead, an executive director of Bangladesh Bank nominated by its governor, the ACC's director general and BSEC's executive director must be present in court in person on the same date and time, the HC bench said.

The HC said Bangladesh Bank's lawyer Tanjib Ul Alam on February 23 informed the bench that the central bank was trying its best to pursue the high-ups of the finance ministry to accept a proposal put forward by the bank.

"Under the circumstances, this court considers that it has now become obligatory for this constitutional court to directly consult with the heads of the relevant statutory bodies towards resolution of the impasse," the HC judge said.