People's Leasing

Banks, NBFIs, other agencies asked to freeze accounts of 11

FE Report | July 16, 2019 00:00:00

The government has asked scheduled banks, non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) and other financial reporting agencies to freeze the accounts of nine former directors and two other high officials of People's Leasing and Financial Services Limited (PLFSL).

The order would apply to former directors, who had been on the PLFSL's board until 2015, officials said.

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) of the government issued a notification in this connection on Monday asking the banks, NBFIs and other reporting agencies to freeze the accounts in line with a High Court (HC) order.

The BFIU issued the notification in line with the central bank's advice, the officials said.

On Sunday the HC ordered the Bangladesh Bank (BB) to freeze the accounts of those who had been on the PLFSL's board until 2015.

The former directors are Captain Moazzem Hossain, Nargis Alamin, Humayra Alamin, Arefin Shamsul Alamin, Mohammad Yousuf Ismail, Md. Motiur Rahman, Bishwajit Kumar Roy, Khabiruddin Miah and Shahidul Haque.

The two former high officials are Kabir Mostaque Ahmed and Nipedra Pandit.

The former directors are restrained by an order of injunction from withdrawing any money or security from the accounts maintained by them with any bank, financial institution, brokerage house, merchant banks, central depository, cooperative society or other similar institutions. They are also restrained from disposing of any property as assets, movable or immovable.

The HC also approved a BB plea to appoint a liquidator for the PLFSL.

Md Asaduzzaman Khan, deputy general manager of the BB's financial institutions department and markets, has been appointed as the liquidator for the PLFSL.

The newly-appointed liquidator for the PLFSL is now taking preparations for starting his work within this week formally, according to another BB official.

Considering its fragile financial state, earlier on June 27 the finance ministry asked the central bank to liquidate the PLFSL and protect the interest of depositors.

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