BSB Global's chair remanded for 10 days over education scam, faces wrath outside court

A Dhaka court today (15 July) placed Khairul Bashar Bahar, chairman of foreign education consultancy firm BSB Global Network, on a ten-day remand in a case filed over embezzling crores of taka from individuals by falsely promising overseas higher education opportunities.

Dhaka Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sanaullah granted the remand after police produced Bashar before the court and sought permission for interrogation, according to court sources.

As per the remand application, Bashar stands accused of swindling around Tk18.29 crore from 141 individuals by promising to send them to countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia on student visas.

Investigators from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) estimate the total amount embezzled could exceed Tk53 crore, with at least 448 victims identified so far. The number is expected to rise as the investigation continues.

Multiple cases have already been filed against Bashar and his associates on charges of fraud, embezzlement and money laundering. Bashar was arrested by CID from the capital's Dhanmondi area on Monday.

Victims assault Bashar in court premises

Before the court proceedings, agitated students and parents who were victims of fraud assaulted him in the court premises by punching, kicking, and throwing eggs at him. 

He was brought into the courtroom under tight police security, wearing a bulletproof vest, helmet, and handcuffs.

'Didn't your conscience ever awaken?'

During the hearing, the judge directly addressed Bashar: "Why did you do these things?" he asked. Bashar remained silent.

The judge also questioned him about his failure to send the students abroad and why he did not return the money, to which Bashar did not respond.

At one point, the judge asked, "Didn't your conscience ever awaken? How many times have you been married?" Bashar replied, "Twice." 

"How many children do you have?" the judge asked. He replied, "Six."

Then the judge said, "Why did you put these students' lives at risk by taking their money? Didn't you think about your own children even once?"

Victims demand justice

Earlier in the day, dozens of aggrieved parents and students staged a human chain in front of the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in Dhaka, demanding justice against Bashar, who also heads the Cambrian Education Group.

Holding placards and chanting slogans, demonstrators accused Bashar and his company of defrauding thousands of families with false promises of university admissions in Canada, the US, the UK, and other European countries in exchange for large sums of money.

"Over 2,000 students were promised higher education abroad through fake offer letters and fraudulent contracts," claimed Shahjahan Sarkar, one of the protesting guardians. "He took over Tk4,000 crore from families like ours and never refunded the money."

Another parent, Tahmina Akhter Munni, alleged that victims were intimidated and physically assaulted by hired goons when they tried to demand their money back.

"On 23 August, when we went to the BSB office, we were brutally beaten," she said.

CID officials earlier revealed that Bashar, along with his wife Khandaker Selima Rawshan and son Arsh Ibn Bashar, operated a sophisticated fraud ring between 2018 and 2024, misappropriating crores of taka from hundreds of students and guardians.