ACC files 37th case against PK Halder

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has filed a fresh case against Prashanta Kumar Halder, alias PK Halder, former managing director of NRB Global Bank and Reliance Finance Limited, and 11 others, on allegations of misappropriating Tk44 crore.

Md Rakibul Hayat, assistant director of the ACC, filed the 37th case against Halder and his associates on Thursday.

The ACC has again sent a letter to the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), seeking the repatriation of PK Halder, who was recently arrested in India.

ACC sources said the National Central Bureau (NCB), Interpol's regional office in Dhaka, sent the letter on Wednesday to its Indian counterpart with a request to extradite PK Halder to Bangladesh.

According to the case statement, the accused used fraudulent means to embezzle Tk44 crore from FAS Finance and Investment Limited under the name of Diya Shipping Limited, a non-existent entity.

The other accused in the case are former Managing Director of so called Diya Shipping Limited, Shiv Prasad Banerjee, Director Papia Banerjee, FAS Finance and Investment Chairman MA Hafeez, former Chairman Md Siddiqur Rahman, and Vice-Chairman Md Jahangir Alam, Directors Arun Kumar Kundu, Anjan Kumar Roy, Md Mostain Billah, Ujjal Kumar Nandi and Satya Gopal Poddar, and former Managing Director and CEO of FAS Finance, Russell Shahriar.

The ACC also formed a two-member committee on Wednesday to bring PK Halder back to Bangladesh from India. The committee members include ACC deputy directors Mohammad Salauddin and Gulshan Anwar.

The committee may be increased to five if necessary, although initially a two-member body has been formed, ACC sources said. 

It will work to remove legal impediments to the speedy repatriation of PK Halder and will take necessary steps to that end. 

Earlier on 7 January 2020, the ACC had filed a case against PK Halder and sent a letter to Interpol. At that time, the international police organisation had issued a red notice against Halder.