PK Halder held in India

* Steps to be taken for PK Halder's extradition to Bangladesh, says Momen 

*He is accused of amassing illegal wealth of around Tk 275 crore and laundering the money abroad

Prasanta Kumar Halder, also known as PK Halder, accused of laundering crores of taka, was arrested in West Bengal of India on Saturday. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) apprehended six people, including Halder, who was absconding at a house in Ashok Nagar of the Indian state, reports Bangladesh private TV Channel 24.

On January 8, 2020, Bangladesh's Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) filed a case against Halder for amassing illegal wealth of around Tk 275 crore and laundering the money abroad.

Officials at the anti-graft watchdog said a total of 22 cases were filed against Prasanta Kumar Halder alias PK Halder, a former managing director of the erstwhile NRB Global Bank, now Global Islami Bank, and Reliance Finance Limited, along with his associates, over the embezzlement of money from ILFSL.

Besides, 13 cases were also filed against Halder and his aides for misappropriation of money from another non-banking financial institution — FAS Finance and Investment Ltd.

So far, ACC has frozen assets worth around Tk 1,000 crore.

Meanwhile, the commission arrested 12 people, including ILFSL former managing director Rashedul Haque and FAS Finance former managing director Russell Shahriar, in connection with the cases.

Later, a Dhaka court issued arrest warrants against 10, including former managing director of the then NRB Global Bank and Reliance Finance, Proshanta Kumar Halder alias PK Halder in a case lodged over amassing illegal wealth and laundering the money abroad.

The court also issued arrest warrants against PK Halder's mother Lilaboti Halder, Purnima Rani Halder, Uttam Kumar Mistri, Amitabh Adhikari, Pritish Kumar Halder, Rajib Shom, Subrata Das, Anang Mohan Roy and Swapan Kumar Mistri.

As the other 10 accused including PK Halder remained absent, the court later issued arrest warrants against them.

Steps to be taken for PK Halder's extradition, says Momen 

Meanwhile, Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said on Saturday that the government will take necessary steps for the extradition of Prasanta Kumar Halder alias PK Halder from India.

PK Halder, who had been absconding after being charged for amassing illegal wealth, embezzling thousand crore taka and laundering those abroad, was arrested in West Bengal of India on Saturday.

“We are yet to be formally informed about the arrest of Prasanta Kumar Halder. Necessary steps will be taken as soon as we are informed formally,” the minister told reporters after a programme held at the Foreign Service Academy in Dhaka.

Halder, former managing director of the erstwhile NRB Global Bank, now Global Islami Bank, and Reliance Finance Limited, is facing a number of cases along with his associates in Bangladesh for misappropriating and siphoning off money through fake companies.

Momen said steps must be taken against the money launderer and the Anti-Corruption Commission is working on the issue.

Dubbing the money launderers as the enemies of the country, he said bringing back Halder to Bangladesh will be a good example for the offenders.

The Indian Enforcement Directorate (ED) apprehended six people, including Halder, who was hiding at a house in Ashok Nagar of West Bengal.

Earlier on Friday, the ED raided more than 10 locations in North and South 24 Parganas of West Bengal to detain Halder and his two associates — Pritish Kumar Halder and Pranesh Kumar Halder, reports Hindustan Times.

All of them fraudulently obtained Indian citizenship papers, the ED said in a statement.

PK Halder has been living in West Bengal posing as an Indian citizen. He used the name Shibshankar Halder after procuring a ration card issued by the West Bengal government, Indian voter ID card as well as PAN and Aadhar card, the ED said.

His associates also managed to get similar documents, the agency found during the investigation.

ED officials found that Halder and his associates set up companies in India on the basis of these documents and also purchased immovable property at various places, including Kolkata.