People's Leasing and Financial Services Limited
{{Short description|Non-bank financial institution}}
{{Infobox company
| name = People's Leasing and Financial Services Limited (PLFSL)
| logo =
| type = Public
| hq_location = Dhaka, Bangladesh
| traded_as = {{Dse|PLFSL}}
| industry = Financial services
| founded = {{start date and age |1996}}
| key_people = Hasan Shaheed Ferdous (Chairman){{Cite web |title=PLFS {{!}} People's Leasing and Financial Services Limited |url=http://www.plfsbd.com/aboutus/bod |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=www.plfsbd.com}}
| website = {{URL|http://www.plfsbd.com/}}
| num_staff =
}}
People's Leasing and Financial Services Limited is a major non-bank financial institution in Bangladesh providing leasing and investment services.
In 2020, Bangladeshi-Canadian businessman Proshanta Kumar Halder, known as the Sultan of Swindle, scammed 35 billion taka from the company.{{Cite news |last=Khan |first=Mahbubur Rahman |date=2022-05-21 |title=Unrestrained, PK Halder became the sultan of swindle |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/weekend-read/news/unrestrained-he-became-the-sultan-swindle-3028326 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}{{Cite news |date=2021-01-11 |title=PK Halder's Tk 3,500cr Scam: ACC summons four high-ups of People's Leasing |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/city/news/pk-halders-tk-3500cr-scam-acc-summons-four-high-ups-peoples-leasing-2025737 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Khan |first=Mahbubur Rahman |last2=Uddin |first2=AKM Zamir |date=2021-02-18 |title=With a little help from his friends! |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/little-help-his-friends-2046697 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Khan |first=Mahbubur Rahman |date=2021-02-14 |title=PK Halder: Fake NIDs fetched him Tk 450cr loan |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/pk-halder-fake-nids-fetched-him-tk-450cr-loan-2044329 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}
History
People's Leasing and Financial Services Limited was established on 12 August 1996 and received its license from Bangladesh Bank on 24 November 1997.{{Cite web |title=PLFS {{!}} People's Leasing and Financial Services Limited |url=http://www.plfsbd.com/aboutus/about_us |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=www.plfsbd.com}}
In 2010, the People's Leasing and Financial Services Limited received permission from Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission to issue shares on the stock exchange.{{Cite news |publisher=Star Business Report |date=2010-09-07 |title=Two IPOs get SEC nod |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news-detail-153920 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}
An investigation by Bangladesh Bank found financial irregularities took place from 2002 to 2014.{{Cite news |last=Rahman |first=Sajjadur |date=2016-08-28 |title=Ex-directors of People's Leasing move to repay loans amid pressure |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/business/ex-directors-peoples-leasing-move-repay-loans-amid-pressure-1276684 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}} It has found the chairman and four members of the board of directors had embezzled money from the institute through fraudulent loans. The Anti Corruption Commission arrested Khabir Uddin Miah, one of the directors, on those allegations. Chairman M. Moazzam Hossain was removed from the board of directors. The other director who faced allegations were Nargis Alamin, Humaira Alamin, and Arafin Shamsul Alamin.
The stock of the company did well on the Dhaka Stock Exchange in 2018 based on rumors.{{Cite news |date=2018-12-06 |title=Low performers top DSE gainers' list |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/low-performers-top-dse-gainers-list-1669876 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}
The government of Bangladesh considered liquidating the People's Leasing and Financial Services Limited and Bangladesh Industrial Finance Company Limited in July 2019 due to its failure to pay back its creditors.{{Cite news |last=Uddin |first=AKM Zamir |date=2019-07-09 |title=People's Leasing faces liquidation |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/peoples-leasing-faces-liquidation-1768792 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}} Individual and Small Depositors' Council of the non-bank financial institution, a pressure group, demanded the government restructure the institute rather than liquidate it.{{Cite news |date=2020-10-20 |title=Reconstruct People's Leasing to return money |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/reconstruct-peoples-leasing-return-money-1981113 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}
Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar of the High Court Division of the Bangladesh Supreme Court ordered the restructuring the financial institution to prevent its bankruptcy in 2021.{{Cite news |last=Sarkar |first=Ashutosh |date=2021-07-14 |title=HC throws a lifeline to troubled People's Leasing |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/industries/investments/news/hc-throws-lifeline-troubled-peoples-leasing-2129616 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}} He summoned 280 loan defaulters of the institution to appear before the court.{{Cite news |date=2021-01-22 |title=People's Leasing Loans: HC summons 280 defaulters |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/peoples-leasing-loans-hc-summons-280-defaulters-2031837 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}} The court appointed Kamal-Ul-Alam as chairman of the institute and Mohammad Jalaluddin as the managing director. It created a new board of directors for the institution.{{Cite news |title=HC forms board of directors for People's leasing {{!}} News |url=https://www.bssnews.net/news/5102 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=BSS}} On 1 June, Kamal Ul Alam for health reasons and Hasan Shahed Ferdous was appointed as a replacement.{{Cite news |date=2022-08-29 |title=People's Leasing will return deposits to 582 small investors |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/peoples-leasing-will-return-money-582-small-investors-485974 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=The Business Standard |language=en}} In November 2021, the chairman of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission, Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam, ordered an audit of the institute's activities from 2013 to 2021.{{Cite news |date=2021-11-23 |title=People's Leasing to face stockmarket regulator's special audit |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/peoples-leasing-face-stockmarket-regulators-special-audit-2901011 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}} Peoples Leasing and Financial Services Limited in November 2021 without any notice started returning the money of depositors aged over 75.{{Cite news |title=PLFS starts paying back few depositors, issues no notice |url=https://www.newagebd.net/article/155052/plfs-starts-paying-back-few-depositors-issues-no-notice |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=New Age |language=en}}
Proshanta Kumar Halder, managing director of Reliance Finance, was able to appoint his relatives in senior management positions of People's Leasing and Financial Services Limited and embezzled more than 35 billion taka from the institute. He was aided by the daughter of Khabir Uddin Ahmed, a director of People's Leasing and Financial Services Limited.{{Cite news |date=2022-08-24 |title=Sisters, who were PK Halder's associates, arrested while trying to flee Bangladesh |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/2-female-associates-pk-halder-arrested-rab-says-3101911 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}} The two sisters, Sharmin Ahmed and Tania Ahmed, had been living in Canada and were arrested by the Rapid Action Battalion on a visit to Bangladesh. The High Court ordered 11 of his associates to surrender their passports to the court.{{Cite news |title=HC orders 11 with ties to People's Leasing loan scam to surrender passports |url=https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/uuzxjh1j56 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=bdnews24.com |language=en}} He had swindled 102 billion taka in total from International Leasing and Financial Services Limited, People's Leasing and Financial Services Limited, Reliance Finance Limited, FAS Finance and Investment Limited, and NRB Global Bank.{{Cite news |last=Khan |first=Mahbubur Rahman |date=2020-09-27 |title=From the Archives: So far Tk 10,200cr swindled by PK Halder |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/frontpage/news/swindle-pk-halder-so-far-it-tk-10200cr-1968125 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}
In August 2022, People's Leasing and Financial Services Limited announced its intention to return the money of 582 small investors. Bangladesh Bank denied its request to roll out banking services for failure to meet the requirements.{{Cite news |date=2022-01-21 |title=Peoples Bank fails to win BB nod |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/business/economy/banks/news/peoples-bank-fails-win-bb-nod-2943906 |access-date=2022-10-09 |work=The Daily Star |language=en}}
Subsidiary
- PLFS Investments Limited was established in 1998 and operates as a merchant bank.{{Cite web |title=PLFS {{!}} People's Leasing and Financial Services Limited |url=http://www.plfsbd.com/aboutus/subsidiaries |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=www.plfsbd.com}}