A Dhaka court has ordered the imprisonment of 10 accused arrested on charges of fraud carried out using artificial intelligence by exploiting the image and voice of Islamic speaker Mizanur Rahman Azhari.
Court sources said on Sunday that Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Ishrat Jahan passed the order on Saturday, rejecting their bail petitions.
Prosecution Sub-Inspector Rokonuzzaman confirmed the matter, saying the bail hearing of the accused will be held on Monday.
The accused are Md Sarafat Hossain, Md Shafayet Hossain Shuvo, Shahadat Toufiq, Md Imam Hossain Bijoy, Md Rafiqul Hasan, Minhajur Rahman Shahed, Touki Tajwar Ilham, Amid Hasan, Md Abdullah Fahim, and Md Imran.
Although they are residents of different districts, they had rented a house in the Bayezid Bostami area of Chattogram and were carrying out the cybercrime in an organised manner.
Police took action after a victim named Bilal Hossain filed a case under the Cyber Security Act with Paltan Model Police Station in the capital on 23 April.
In a joint operation by Dhaka Metropolitan Police and Chattogram Metropolitan Police, they were arrested from the Shershah Colony area of Chattogram.
According to the case statement, the group had long been collecting Azhari’s videos and voice from social media and using AI technology to create highly realistic “deepfake” videos.
In those fake videos, Azhari was made to promote specific products.
They had been misleading people through around 24 fake Facebook pages and websites, including “Azhari Shop,” “Doctor Seba,” and “Halal Shop.”
Investigations found that the group exploited Azhari’s popularity to send low-quality products through cash on delivery and embezzle large sums of money.
Officials involved in the investigation said the group took advantage of Azhari being abroad and used people’s religious sentiments to carry out the fraud.
The accused are currently in jail custody, and authorities are investigating whether others are involved in the network.
