Leasing and financing companies (although we call them NBFIs) have lost deposits recently. Several people of that sector have said that the negative effect of P.K. Haldar’s looting spree spread over almost a decade is responsible. Blaming Haldar is very much in fashion now. Among other things, he has now become the fall guy for all ills that ails the sector. It would have been better if financial sector specialists had been able to admit their general lack of competence in the system as a whole allowed Haldar to do what he did. Haldar in India or the Indian connection? Haldar in India is seen as a place where he chose to hide rather than a place which is actually part of a large scale money laundering operations centre. Many there are involved and are skilled in transfers of money and goods having their feet in both India and Bangladesh. That has historically evolved so it will go on. However, a section of the Indian establishment certainly has a stake in the Haldars that operate in Bangladesh. They are party to the scams through both advice and investment and of course later as recipients of the money smuggled away. While we speak of Canada and Switzerland, we don’t mention Kolkata and elsewhere much. Several cases have come up which show active involvement of such types of players. Some kind of surveillance is needed in both India and Malaysia. Read: Extradition of PK Halder has to go through legal process: Indian envoy The other question that has emerged is a more serious and political in nature so to speak. The Indian intelligence is far more efficient than ours and has caught more thieves including powerful ones there many times. Since, it was no secret where he was living to many and Haldar was essentially not hiding, how was his presence missed by them?  It can only happen if he was allowed to go on living in safety and even invest his smuggled money. Point is, was Delhi protecting him or Kolkata? India media has also been speculating on this as well. Haldar had been able to access NI cards, bank accounts, investment; purchases etc which are impossible to do without some high level support. So involvement is obvious but the timing is important. It’s close to the elections and he can generate more political vulnerability now than anytime else. So whose politics will he serve best? It’s possible that Trinamool Congress leaders were helping him out in lieu of money but did the Delhi establishment know this? Bangladesh knew this also but as usual was not very effective. Lacking any clout they were hoping that the Haldar scam would one day get buried and they could move on. But Delhi probably had other ideas on this and keeping the next elections in mind rumbled him, spoiling both TC’s political future and if needed lean on BD leaders as well before 2023. Haldar will name important names and that means, neutralising many in the influential establishment in Bangladesh and Bengal. Haldar has now graduated into a major political tool in the region though one is not sure that he is enjoying it as much as he enjoyed stealing people’s money in Bangladesh before. Can the Bangladeshi system cope? There is little doubt that they can’t. The financial regulatory bodies, the surveillance systems, the not so brilliant decision making all point to sectorial managers in charge of a machine beyond their capacity to handle. Add to this is, the all pervasive corruption that seems to attract corruption the way rotten meat attracts flies. And of course there are the crime prevention and security outfits who seem to have cooperated with Haldar in letting him get away as per even the High Court observations. Read: PK Halder to stay in federal agency's custody for 10 more days The reason the system finds coping difficult is because directly or indirectly, the system is partly a Haldar itself. And the rest have little skill or capacity to manage it. It’s best to face the fact that the Haldars are here to stay for a long while. If that is the case, with the financial sector resembling the national cricket team more and more every day, one should at least pay some heed to the calls made. Settle the various leasing companies' mess immediately. A signal must go out on whose side is the Government on. Start training staff on rational and responsible banking and money transaction based on official approval and encouragement of the PM as she alone seems to matter Initiate a Corruption Control unit in every financial outfit. Nobody wants high damage beyond repair to the financial sector. But the desire to prevent such damage must come from the official financial establishment first.

In the 50th year of Bangladesh, accelerated growth in many sectors is noted. This includes health, infrastructure, digitalization, banking and financial institutions and so on. Unfortunately, one of the most striking growths is also noted in the corruption sector. This probably is a peak year for it. Almost every day we have one news or another of corruption and public suffering at the hands of the corrupt. And worse, we see no decline in the trend either. It’s scary for most people who suffer at the hands of the corrupt. We have achieved much in the last fifty years but we have also created a wonderful haven for corruption. According to Newton’s law of motion, if there is corruption, it will be followed by an anti-corruption agency and Bangladesh has one also- the ACC. The problem is that like many other places, most have little confidence in it. While many think the agency is itself corrupt, others think it's facilitating corruption by giving anti-corruption a facade of effectiveness when actually it isn’t. Most everyone thinks there is a lack of serious intent in anti-corruption in the system. It’s not considered useful. READ: Ctg businessman sues PK Halder Yet the deck is stacked against the ACC because the legal and procedural system is so inefficient and out of date that even if it wanted to, anti-corruption moves could never really work very well. The key lies in corruption prevention and that’s where there is no attention.  

For the last few months, stories after stories are breaking about theft and fraud by digital platforms. It's unusual considering the country is trying to brand itself "Digital Bangladesh" but coming across digital theft so frequently. These consumer goods selling online super shops have managed to milk millions from the public and stolen crores in the process.  They range from the big players like E-valy, Orange, Dhamaka etc and others to many small players who steal and disappear and the media doesn’t even get to hear about them.  It’s not a crisis going by the regulators and law enforcers to whom few things in life are a problem but the consuming public who find they are left without any protection. Cheating by digital online shops is not uncommon globally. However, regulations to protect the client from such elements are also common. These protections are at several levels from the technological to the legal to market operational guidelines. Read: Evaly is under ACC probe for alleged misappropriation In the case of Bangladesh, none seem to be present. Just about anyone is allowed to enter the market, start a business, do as they wish, offer any sorts of discounts and after gathering money leave the building. It’s become so common that barring a few top flight names with track records like Chaldal and Daraz , others are looked upon with suspicion. Bangladesh business structure is crime friendly The problem is structural in Bangladesh. While in countries where such operations function, the business structure is driven by market rules which tries to prevent theft before it’s committed. But the basics remain the same which is profit making based on market performance, satisfaction of clients and protection of the consumer. However, in the case of Bangladesh, the odds are that it will be hyper profit based and clients are left at the mercy of the scammers. And the scammers rarely suffer, it’s the consumer that does. The reason is, no scammers are punished because the system is not geared towards their restraint. The business model unfortunately favours the scammers so heavily that nothing has developed as protection tools for the clients. The best example of this is P.K. Haldar, who ripped off millions of depositors' savings from not one but four leasing companies.  As events and facts have shown, almost everyone in the financial system was involved and Haldar’s scam had gone on for years without any opposition by the system. He took advantage of the system because he knew that it meant facilitating crime and getting away if one can. It’s not meant for client protection. Sadly and scarily that is the dominant model. Read: Owners of e-orange.shop sent to jail over fraud case One really can’t say that the future looks good for digital economies. None of the outfits have performed well so perhaps any protection must be self-protection and online groceries may be fine but for the rest for the moment it’s best to buy from street shops. Safer.