Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested a man for allegedly impersonating a Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) adviser and circulating a forged government gazette as part of a series of fraud schemes.
The suspect, Arif Mohiuddin of Chakaria in Cox’s Bazar, was picked up on Saturday by a team from the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, with support from the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit and local police.
Briefing reporters at the DMP Media Centre on Sunday, DB chief and Additional Police Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam said the accused used multiple aliases " “Dr Arif Mohiuddin,” “Mohiuddin,” and “Mohiuddin Chowdhury” "to carry out the deception.
According to investigators, he presented himself as a special adviser to the PMO, used the seal of a PMO director and circulated a fabricated biography of the Prime Minister to bolster his claims. He also allegedly doctored an official gazette by inserting his name as an adviser and forging the signature of the Home Ministry’s senior secretary before distributing it to various government offices.
Police said he further exploited the name and monogram of an entity styled “Gum Kalyan Trust” to solicit money, falsely naming a senior official as its president while claiming to be member secretary.
In addition, the suspect reportedly claimed himself to be a state minister and sent letters to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and Bangladesh Bank (BB) seeking a loan of Tk 1,000 crore.
Multiple instances of fraud were recovered from his mobile phone, police said, adding that he has been brought to Dhaka for further interrogation.
The DB chief noted that the accused had previously faced similar allegations, including a general diary filed in 2024 at Chakaria Police Station and had also been sentenced in a cyber case. Authorities are now verifying the status of that sentence.
Police said legal proceedings will be initiated following further questioning.
AM
