ACC approves charge sheet on PK Halder
Staff Reporter:
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has approved a charge sheet against 18 individuals, including fugitive Prashanta Kumar Halder, widely known as PK Halder, in connection with the alleged embezzlement and laundering of Tk44 crore obtained as a loan using a fake company.
ACC Assistant Director (Public Relations) Tanzir Ahmed confirmed on Monday that the loan was sanctioned in the name of Diya Shipping Limited, which investigators later found to be a fictitious and non-existent entity.
According to ACC findings, Shib Prasad Banerjee, shown as the managing director of Diya Shipping Limited, applied on 10 November 2014 to FAS Finance and Investment Limited for a six-year term loan of Tk44 crore at a comparatively low interest rate, claiming it was needed for business expansion.
To secure the loan, 332 decimals of land in the Khalishajani Mouza area of Kaliakair, Gazipur, were offered as collateral. At the time, survey firm BDS Adjusters assessed the land’s value at Tk12.61 crore, with a forced sale value of Tk10.29 crore.
However, a later valuation conducted by Mridha and Associates Limited on 19 March 2025 placed the land’s value at only Tk80 lakh, with a forced sale value of Tk56 lakh, exposing a huge discrepancy in the assessment.
The ACC said that Md Russell Shahriar, then managing director of FAS Finance and Investment Limited, prepared the loan proposal on 17 December 2014 without proper verification, relying solely on documents provided by the applicant.
The proposal was approved at the institution’s 163rd board meeting on 22 December 2014, which was attended by the chairman, vice-chairman and other directors.
Investigators found that Tk42 crore of the loan amount was transferred through three Bangladesh Bank cheques to an account of Reliance Finance Limited at the Banasree branch of First Security Islami Bank. The funds were later moved through several other accounts using additional Bangladesh Bank cheques.
The remaining Tk2 crore was routed through Southeast Bank and Prime Bank to accounts belonging to Diya Oil Limited, Eta and Tiles Limited, and MST Marine Services and Traders Limited.
According to the ACC, members of the PK Halder group siphoned off the loan money by moving it through multiple institutional accounts in phases and laundering it by concealing the source, ownership and destination of the funds.
The commission has approved submission of the charge sheet against the owners of Diya Shipping Limited; the chairman, vice-chairman, directors and former managing director of FAS Finance and Investment Limited; directors of several associated companies; and the chief executive of a survey firm.
The accused will be prosecuted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947, and the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012. PK Halder, a former managing director of Global Islami Bank, is already facing numerous cases related to large-scale financial fraud and money laundering.