Audit at People’s Leasing begins

A formal audit of the financial records of the People's Leasing and Financial Services Limited (PLFS) has been initiated for assessing the amount of dues of the company. The Acnabin Chartered Accountants embarked on the audit on Sunday.     

After the audit, depositors will get back their money on the basis of availability of fund. 

"The Acnabin will audit PLFS's financial transactions since September 30, 2015," Md Asaduzzaman Khan, who has been appointed as the liquidator by the High Court, told The Business Standard. Khan, also the deputy general manager of the central bank, could not specify how much time it would take to complete the assessment.       

Hoda Vasi Chowdhury & Co, another chartered accountancy (CA) firm, audited PLFS till 30 September, 2015, and the court accepted the report. The audit firm was appointed on August 25, following a court order. 

The debts of PLFS is being winded up through a liquidation account.                  

Asaduzzaman Khan said, now company's money can only be deposited into the liquidation account, as all other accounts of PLFS are frozen.    

The liquidator asked the company to submit details of its financial records; the records are yet to be submitted, though.   

The head office of PLFS, which started its journey in 1997, is in Motijheel with two branch offices in Gulshan and Chittagong.

Of its total outstanding loans, amounting to Tk1,131 crores, Tk748 crores (66.14 percent of the total outstanding loans) of PLFS has turned into non-performing loans.

Owing to deterioration of its financial health, the company could not give any dividend to its shareholders after 2014.

Some 67.84 percent of the company's total share is with the general shareholders, while 23.21 percent is with the sponsors and directors, 8.76 percent with institutions, and 0.19 percent with the foreign investors.

On July 27 of this year, the government directed the central bank to liquidate People's Leasing.