Tk25 lakh stolen from Bangladesh Bank in savings certificate system breach
Cenbank foils subsequent attempt to withdraw Tk50 lakh more
A fraud ring has embezzled Tk25 lakh by exploiting the National Savings Certificate (NSC) system, Bangladesh Bank officials said today (29 October).
The scam was detected involving certificates purchased from the Bangladesh Bank's Motijheel office in the capital. The central bank, however, managed to intercept and block a subsequent attempt by the same group to withdraw a further Tk50 lakh.
Initial findings suggest the fraudulent transaction was executed using the password of officials responsible for operating the Savings Certificate system.
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"It appears preliminarily that this fraud occurred through the use of the password of the personnel who operate the Savings Certificate system. We are identifying the accounts into which the money was transferred, and those involved in the fraud, and a case will be filed," Mohammad Shahriar Siddiqui, assistant spokesperson for the Bangladesh Bank, told reporters.
The central bank has already filed a General Diary (GD) with the Motijheel police station and is preparing to lodge a formal complaint.
How the heist occurred
Senior central bank officials explained the process by which the initial Tk25 lakh was stolen. Last Thursday, an individual purchased a Tk25 lakh NSC from the Motijheel office. Just four days later, on Monday, the certificate was redeemed prematurely.
The money was first transferred to another individual's account at the NRBC Bank's Dinajpur sub-branch, and then quickly withdrawn from the bank's Shyamoli branch in the capital shortly after the deposit.
On the same day, the syndicate attempted to encash two more NSCs worth Tk30 lakh (via Dutch-Bangla Bank) and Tk20 lakh (via NRB Bank), using the identical fraudulent method. These attempts were flagged by the Bangladesh Bank and successfully blocked.
Primary investigation
Upon investigation, the central bank contacted the buyers of the three involved Savings Certificates. All customers confirmed they had not applied for encashment and had not received any One-time password (OTP) on their mobile phones, indicating an internal system breach.
Following this confirmation, the three Bangladesh Bank officials who held the password necessary to sell and process the Savings Certificates at the Motijheel office have been removed from their duties and replaced.
Central bank officials said that since the fraud was carried out using authorised passwords, the officials who had access to them are under surveillance. The investigation is also examining whether any external parties were involved in the sophisticated scheme.
The National Savings Directorate data shows that total outstanding Savings Certificates held by customers across authorised institutions, including banks and post offices, stood at Tk3,40,071 crore as of August. These instruments are bought and encashed through nearly 12,000 branches nationwide.
