সোমবার, ২৯শে এপ্রিল, ২০২৪ খ্রিস্টাব্দ ১৬ই বৈশাখ, ১৪৩১ বঙ্গাব্দ

High Court: Why have PK Halder’s associates not been arrested yet?

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The High Court has asked why SK Sur Chowdhury, former deputy governor of Bangladesh Bank, and its Executive Director Shah Alam have not been arrested yet for assisting Prashant Kumar Halder alias PK Halder in alleged money laundering and embezzlement.

The bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim made the observation on Monday during a hearing on a suo moto rule issued in this connection.

At the hearing, the Anti-Corruption Commission’s (ACC) counsel Khurshid Alam said the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) was examining the bank statements of SK Sur Chowdhury and Shah Alam.

The ACC would take necessary steps against them after receiving reports from the BFIU, he said.

The court also said the ACC had made it easy for PK Halder to flee abroad by sending out a notice regarding his travel ban to the immigration police 13 hours behind schedule.

The ACC’s lawyer said that the anti-corruption watchdog had shown no negligence in taking steps against PK Halder and his associates.

Meanwhile, the additional inspector general of the Special Branch of police submitted the list of 67 police officers who were on duty on the day PK Halder left Bangladesh through Benapole Land Port, following an order from the High Court on Wednesday.

On February 15 this year, a High Court bench comprising Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Mohi Uddin Shamim issued a rule asking how PK Halder had escaped despite being banned from leaving the country.

The court also sought a list of immigration and ACC officials who were on duty on the day PK Halder fled Bangladesh.

It may be recalled that taking into cognizance a report published in a national daily on November 18, 2020 mentioning that the ACC would seek Interpol’s help in apprehending PK Halder, the High Court on November 19 issued several suo moto rules to ascertain what steps had been taken to repatriate and arrest him.

Earlier on January 8, 2020, the ACC filed a case against Halder on charges of amassing illegal wealth worth around Tk274 crore.

He is accused of embezzling Tk1,500 crore from International Leasing and Financial Services Ltd. Halder had allegedly embezzled Tk3,500 crore from different financial agencies.

Earlier on February 15, the High Court inquired as to how PK Halder fled the country although his passport had been seized.

The International Criminal Police Organisation, commonly known as Interpol, issued a red notice against Halder on January 8 this year following a request from the Bangladesh government.