Tk 85 lakh embezzled: case filed against 9, including Dutch-Bangla Bank officials

A housewife has filed a case against nine people, including four officials of Dutch-Bangla Bank's Dania branch, accusing them of embezzling Tk 85 lakh from her account through cheque forgery and fraud.

The complainant, Nargis Akter, filed the case with the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Ashraful Haque on Wednesday (November 4). After recording her statement, the court directed the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to investigate the allegations and submit a report.

According to the complaint, Nargis deposited Tk 1.11 crore in her bank account from the sale of land and a vehicle, along with savings from house and shop rentals. Being illiterate, she relied on bank officials for banking formalities.

On September 17, when she went to withdraw Tk 5 lakh, the accused allegedly took an extra cheque from her cheque book and obtained her signatures on several documents on the pretext of opening a deposit pension scheme (DPS).

On October 4, she discovered that only Tk 3,35,204 remained in her account. Bank officials allegedly informed her that Tk 85 lakh had been transferred to Global Golden Jute and Craft Ltd through a cheque dated September 23.

She claimed that she had neither visited the bank that day nor issued any cheque to the company. The complaint alleges that the cheque retained by bank officials was filled out with a forged signature and used to transfer the money to the company's account at Pubali Bank's Rajbari branch through a Positive Pay Instruction.

The money was allegedly withdrawn in cash on September 28 by accused Shawkat Hasan from Pubali Bank's Principal Branch.

The accused include Dutch-Bangla Bank officials Mohit Morshed, Sourav Saha, Md Rafiqul Islam and Md Golam Kibria, as well as Global Golden Jute and Craft Ltd Chairman Mohammad Mahbub Hossain, Managing Director Md Hakim Ali Sardar, Manager Kazi Enamul Kabir and Shawkat Hasan. The company and unidentified persons have also been named in the case.

The complainant alleged that the company was used to misappropriate her savings with the assistance of the bank officials. The allegations are yet to be established through investigation. 

- MAL/MaT