PK Halder's associate Tajbir granted bail

A Dhaka court has granted jail to Tajbir Hasan, managing director of controversial travel company Haltrip and a close associate of fugitive Prasshanta Kumar Halder alias PK Halder.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Arifur Rahman passed the order today (14 October) following a hearing on the bail plea.

During the hearing, Syeda Fahmida Hossain, lawyer for the accused, moved a petition seeking cancellation of the remand and granting of bail, while state counsel Kaiyum Hossain Nayon opposed it. After hearing both sides, the court granted bail on a Tk1,000 bond.

Confirming the matter, state prosecutor Kaiyum Hossain Nayon said, "Since other cases against the accused are still under process, the court has granted bail in this particular GD-related case."

PK Halder’s associate Tajbir sent to jail over money laundering

The defence argued that there were no documents or specific cases against Tajbir. They claimed he is a citizen of Turkey who came to Bangladesh to visit his ailing father and was arrested while attempting to leave the country. "He is innocent and deserves bail," the defence said.

The prosecution, however, opposed the plea, arguing that PK Halder "destroyed the country's banking and financial system," and that Tajbir Hasan was a 10% financial partner in his illicit operations.

"If you search on Facebook or YouTube, you'll find information about billions of taka being embezzled. This accused fled abroad in 2022 after embezzling huge sums of money. For the sake of investigation, we sought a seven-day remand. He is one of PK Halder's key accomplices," said the prosecutor.

After hearing both sides, the judge observed that since other legal processes against the accused are ongoing, there was no necessity to place him on remand in this case.

Earlier, Tajbir was detained at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport late on 4 October while trying to fly to Turkey. He was later handed over to the Airport Police Station by intelligence officials. The investigating officer in the case, Sub-Inspector Md Suman Mia of the Airport Police Station, sought a seven-day remand for interrogating the accused in police custody under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Following the petition, the court ordered that Tajbir be sent to jail and fixed 14 October for the remand hearing, said public prosecutor Kaiyum Hossain Nayon.

According to the police report, Tajbir holds citizenship or passports of Turkey and another country, and is a close associate of PK Halder. The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is investigating him for alleged involvement in money laundering, with claims that he owns 10% of PK Halder's financial holdings.

Authorities also seized 41 Turkish passports, an iPhone 17 Pro Max, and an iPhone 15 Pro from his possession, which are being sent for forensic examination.

Tajbir's company Haltrip, a travel agency, shut down in early 2020 after allegedly disappearing with clients' money, leaving scores of travellers and agencies defrauded. Tajbir fled the country in January that year, later acquiring dual citizenship in Turkey and Vanuatu. Several sources also claim that he holds residency in Malta and a Golden Visa in Spain.