International Leasing depositors seek BB intervention

The depositors of the International Leasing and Financial Services Limited (ILFSL) have urged the Bangladesh Bank to intervene so they can recover their money.

The International Leasing Individual Depositors' Forum made the demand at a press conference at the National Press Club in Dhaka yesterday.

Badal Nandi, chairman of the depositors' forum; Tasdiq Ahmed, coordinator; and Md Kamruzzaman Kamal, convenor, also spoke at the press conference.

They said ILFSL had been a sound financial institution until the PK Halder syndicate took control of it in 2015.

Members of the depositors' forum alleged that SK Sur, former deputy governor of the central bank, and Shah Alam, former general manager of BB, directly assisted the PK syndicate in looting public deposits from International Leasing.

Due to this embezzlement, depositors of International Leasing have been unable to recover their hard-earned savings for more than seven years, they added.

"Individual depositors are the worst affected in this case," they said.

The speakers noted that, unfortunately, despite multiple letters, emails, and other efforts addressed to the current governor of the central bank, he has not granted them an audience.

"Not meeting with or listening to the depositors whose hard-earned savings have been stuck for over seven years is a grave injustice to them."

"Depositors are the lifeblood of the banking and financial system, and without being sensitive to their plight, we are doubtful whether any genuine and fundamental reform of the country's banking and financial system can truly be achieved," they added.

ILFSL, established in 1996 and licensed as a non-bank financial institution (NBFI) by the Bangladesh Bank the same year, maintained financial stability until 2015, before the beginning of the PK Halder era.

As of November 2024, the institution owes around Tk 4,300 crore to depositors and different lenders and has been unable to meet its obligations.

On April 10, 2025, the High Court reconstituted ILFSL's board of directors, aiming to revive the organisation and safeguard the interests of depositors and stakeholders.

The court noted that with the inclusion of honest, experienced, and respected professionals, the institution could regain its operational strength and once again serve the financial sector.

Notably, PK Halder was arrested in May 2022 in West Bengal by India's Enforcement Directorate on charges of money laundering.

He was granted bail by a special court in Kolkata on December 25 of 2024, after two and a half years in custody.

Meanwhile, in October 2023, a Dhaka court sentenced PK Halder to 22 years in prison in a money laundering case.

The court stated that the punishment would be effective from the day of his extradition from India.

However, the Bangladesh government has yet to bring him back to the country.