New Delhi has yet to officially inform Dhaka of the arrest of Prashanta Kumar Halder, also known as PK Halder, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan has said.

Legal action would be taken to bring Halder back to the country after getting confirmation from India, the minister said at a seminar in Dhaka on Sunday.

PK Halder was a wanted criminal in Bangladesh, he said, adding that the government had issued “an arrest warrant against him through Interpol”.

Officials of India’s Directorate of Enforcement have indicated that PK Halder will be handed over to the Bangladeshi authorities eventually, under a 2016 extradition treaty between the two countries.

A screengrab showing PK Halder being escorted by Indian law enforcers on Friday, May 14, 2022 Collected

“We will produce him before court tomorrow (Sunday), but eventually he will be taken to Bangladesh,” The Telegraph quoted an ED official as saying on Saturday.

An Indian court on Saturday sent PK Halder, who is wanted for embezzling thousands of crores of taka in Bangladesh, to ED custody till Tuesday, following his arrest in West Bengal.

PK Halder, former managing director of NRB Global Bank and Reliance Finance Ltd, was believed to have fled to Canada after the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) of Bangladesh began an investigation into his illegal activities related to casino business in 2019. 

But he has reportedly been lying low in India since March 2021.

He was arrested in the course of raids by the ED, under the Ministry of Finance of India, in 10 areas of West Bengal on Friday. 

Two others arrested during the raids were identified as Pritish Kumar Halder and Pranesh Kumar Halder.

A top official of the ACC told Dhaka Tribune PK Halder had been arrested on the basis of information the commission had gleaned during its investigation and provided to the Indian authorities.

The commission would disclose further details on Sunday, ACC Deputy Director Gulshan Anwar said.

However, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Saturday said the authorities in Bangladesh had yet to receive official confirmation of PK Halder’s arrest.

Interpol issued a red notice against PK Halder in January last year at the request of Bangladesh.

PK Halder, accused in multiple cases filed over misappropriation of money, was found hiding in a house in Ashoknagar in the North 24 Parganas province, according to Indian media.

PK Halder had been posing as an Indian citizen by the name of Shibshankar Halder, the ED said in a statement.

He had managed to obtain various government identities, including a ration card from West Bengal, an Indian Voter ID card, a permanent account number and a multi-purpose Aadhar card, the directorate added.

PK Halder laundered about Tk80 crore to Canada and amassed about Tk426 crore beyond his known sources of income.

At least 28 corruption cases have so far been filed against PK Halder and his associates in Bangladesh.

On March 1 last year, he fled Bangladesh through Jessore's Benapole land port.

According to media reports, PK Halder possessed two passports — one Bangladeshi and the other Canadian — but used his Bangladeshi passport to go to India. 

Despite facing legal action over financial irregularities at home, Halder continued his illegal activities while in India. 

The ED has ascertained that PK Halder and his associates managed to float companies in India on the basis of fraudulently obtained identities and even purchased immovable properties at various places, including in the upscale areas of the Metropolis Kolkata.