Bangladesh will explore all possible options to bring PK Halder back to the country and confiscate his assets to pay back the money he siphoned off to India and other countries, Attorney General (AG) AM Amin Uddin said on Sunday.
PK Halder was arrested by India’s Directorate of Enforcement (ED) from Ashoknagar of North 24 Parganas in West Bengal on Saturday.
“We will explore all possible options to bring him back to the country. We can seek the help of Interpol. There is also an extradition treaty [with India],” AM Amin Uddin told reporters at his office in Dhaka.
PK Halder’s assets have been confiscated in India as well, he added.
About PK Halder’s arrest in India and steps taken to bring him back to Bangladesh, Amin Uddin said Halder would be tried under Indian law for fraud as he obtained a false citizenship certificate there.
According to media reports, after PK Halder’s arrest in India on Saturday, law enforcers recovered an Indian ration card, voter ID card and Aadhar card.
The attorney general said: "We have a money laundering case pending here. Action will be taken to bring him back to complete the trial process in that case. We’re hopeful about bringing him back at the earliest.
He said PK Halder was arrested based on the information provided by Bangladesh’s Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU).
Meanwhile, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan has said that New Delhi is yet to officially inform Dhaka of the arrest of PK Halder.
Legal action will be taken to bring Halder back to the country after getting confirmation from India, the minister said at a seminar in Dhaka on Sunday.
PK Halder is a wanted criminal in Bangladesh, he said, adding that Interpol issued a red notice against him at the request of the country’s government.
“We will produce him before court tomorrow (Sunday), but eventually he will be taken to Bangladesh,” The Telegraph quoted an ED official as saying on Saturday.
An Indian court on Sunday sent PK Halder, who is wanted for embezzling thousands of crores of taka in Bangladesh, to ED custody till Tuesday, following his arrest in West Bengal.
Also Read - Minister: India yet to officially inform Bangladesh about PK Halder’s arrest
More cases against PK Halder and his associates
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) will file three more cases against Purnima Halder and Shawapn Kumar Mistri, two close associates of notorious scammer PK Halder.
ACC Deputy Director Gulshan Anwar will file the cases at the commission’s integrated district office in Dhaka-1 tomorrow.
The commission is also preparing to lodge 12 more cases against the former managing director of NRB Global Bank and his associates.
According to case documents, the graft watchdog found proof of Purnima Haldar amassing Tk2.36 crore and Shawapan Kumar Mistri amassing Tk1.11 crore beyond their known sources of income.
The ACC will file the cases under Section 26 (2) of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2004.
PK Halder has laundered about Tk80 crore to Canada and amassed about Tk426 crore beyond his known sources of income.
At least 34 corruption cases have so far been filed against PK Halder and his associates in Bangladesh.
On March 1 last year, he fled Bangladesh through Jessore's Benapole land port.
According to media reports, PK Halder possessed two passports — one Bangladeshi and the other Canadian — but used his Bangladeshi passport to go to India.
Despite facing legal action over financial irregularities at home, Halder continued his illegal activities while in India.
The ED has ascertained that PK Halder and his associates managed to float companies in India on the basis of fraudulently obtained identities and even purchased immovable properties at various places, including in the upscale areas of the Metropolis Kolkata.
Economists and bankers welcome Halder’s arrest
PK Harder has been welcomed by economists and banking sectors insider in Bangladesh.
Former lead economist of the World Bank, Zahid Hossain told Dhaka Tribune: “If Halder brought is to justice now, others will be careful while imitating him in the future. Wherever he is hiding, Bangladesh has the ability to find him.”
“Moreover, if the trial against him is held in a speedy manner then there is a possibility of getting back some money he siphoned off,” the economist added.
However, no official of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) agreed to give an official statement in this regard.
An official of the Bangladesh Bank, who did not want to be named, said: “As per law the MD of a financial institution in Bangladesh cannot establish a company in his name in the country or abroad. If such a company is formed, the central bank should be informed. At the same time approval must be taken for it. PK Halder did none of it.
“On the contrary, he has used his influence to disburse large sums of money for these companies from various financial institutions. The process of disbursement of loans to these institutions is also illegal. All these have come up in the BFIU report submitted to the court. The issues are pending at the court. It would not be right to make any official comment about this now.”
“We have good relations with India. I believe at the end of his trial they (ED) will hand him over to Bangladesh,” the official added.
Earlier this year, BFIU submitted a report to the High Court on how PK Halder (Prashant Kumar Halder) had scammed money from various financial institutions.
Deputy Attorney General AKM Amin Uddin Manik on behalf of BFIU informed the court about the matter.
According to the BFIU report submitted to the Attorney General's office, details of embezzlement and siphoning off money from different financial institutions including lending in the name of PK Halder and his 83 associates and using the names of 43 fake institutions also come to light.
According to the report, PK Halder and his associates, along with the board of directors of International Leasing, top management, internal audit department, chief financial officer, and credit division officials, were involved in various irregularities, corruption, fraudulent activities and embezzlement.
Our reporter Meraj Mavis contributed to the report
