PK Halder swindled 1,300C from FAS Finance: ACC

PK Haldar and 40 of his associates have swindled Tk1,300 crore from FAS Finance & Investment Limited, using the names of 20 non-existent companies, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has found.

Earlier in March, the ACC filed ten cases against Halder and his associates for laundering about Tk1,150 crore from another lender, International Leasing and Financial Services Limited (ILFSL).

An ACC official, wishing anonymity, told Dhaka Tribune that investigations have revealed that 20 out of 22 companies of PK Haldar, which initially took loans from FAS Finance, were fake and appeared to exist on paper only.

According to a report filed by the commission, 20 companies were not found at their given address while the other two institutions were found to be closed.

The ACC investigation team led by its Deputy Director Gulshan Anwar Pradhan, has finalised the report recommending 20 cases against 40 people for scam and fraud.

The report will be submitted to the commission soon, officials said.

Similar acts of fraud were also found during investigations by a four-member team, led by FAS Finance Assistant Manager Md Nurul Amin, the commission report mentioned.

However, the commission report said, no phone contact was made with the owners of these fake financial companies and they were not found at their home address. It is presumed that the perpetrators have fled abroad.

Haldar and his associates assured no mortgage in the name of these institutions, so there is no possibility of recovering the loan,” the report said.

The non-existent 20 companies are: RB Enterprise, Doa Shipping Ltd, Imar Enterprise, G&G Enterprise, Newtech Enterprise, Nutrical Ltd, SA Enterprise, Sukhada Properties Ltd, Nature Enterprise Ltd, Wintel International Ltd, Barna, Sandwip Corporation, Annan Chemical Industries Ltd, NB Trading, Hal International Ltd, Kanika Enterprise, MarineTrust Ltd, Moon Enterprise, MTB Marine Ltd, and P&L International Ltd.

ILFSL Managing Director Rashedul Islam and People's Leasing And Financial Services Limited Chairman Uzzal Kumar Nandi recently gave their confessional statement explaining their involvement with Halder in embezzling the funds.

Halder and his associates took loans of Tk1,300 crore from the FAS Finance against these non-existent companies, but the amount was directly transferred to various financial institutions created by PK Halder.

According to the commission report, Halder took a loan of Tk5.50 crore in the name of MTB Marine Ltd, but the amount was transferred to the accounts of Padma Weaving Ltd, Padma Bleaching Ltd, and Fashion Plus Ltd, owned by Mercantile Bank Ltd Director AKM Shaheed Reza.

Similarly, Tk26 crore was issued in the name of Kanika Enterprise, Tk70.82 crore for Annan Chemical Industries Ltd, Tk63 crore for P&L International Ltd, Tk62.79 crore for HAL International Ltd, but the sums were transferred to another company account created by PK Halder.

With the help of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), the government has so far frozen Halder’s over Tk2,700 crore.

Of the amount, around Tk 1,400 crore was with different bank accounts, read the commission report.

On October 22, 2019, the commission issued a travel ban on Halder, However, he fled the country through Benapole land port.

The commission is now trying to bring back Halder, who is now in Canada.