The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested two more individuals in connection with a large-scale scam involving fake foreign investment groups operated via Telegram.
The duo allegedly defrauded ordinary people of substantial sums of money. The CID confirmed the arrests in a press release on Tuesday.
The arrested suspects are Ranjit Basak Rownok, 25, and Palash Chandra Basak, 40.
According to the CID, Rownok was apprehended late Monday evening around 8:30pm from Pirganj area in Thakurgaon, while Palash was arrested in the early hours of Monday at 2am from Suihari area under Dinajpur Kotwali Police Station.
Both were taken into custody by an investigative team from the CID’s Dhaka Metro East Division.
Earlier, the group’s ringleader, Fardin Ahmed alias Protik, 25, and his associate Md Sagar Ahmed, 24, had named Rownok and Palash during their confessional statements under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code before a magistrate.
Following these disclosures, the CID arrested the two suspects.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the syndicate had long operated fake groups on Telegram under the guise of ‘foreign investment platforms’ and other attractive names.
The groups lured ordinary people with promises of high profits in a short time. Once victims joined, staged posts by pre-registered members claimed rapid gains, enticing new participants to transfer money to various bank and mobile financial service (MFS) accounts.
Most of these accounts were registered in third-party names, with many unaware of the true purpose. The perpetrators later used these accounts to carry out illegal transactions and embezzlement. Many investors lost their entire savings.
The CID further stated that the syndicate employed sophisticated methods to convert the ill-gotten funds into cash.
The ringleader, Fardin Ahmed, purchased vehicles from showrooms through bank transactions and then resold them at a lower price, recording paper losses to withdraw cash quickly.
During preliminary interrogations, Rownok admitted being a member of the illegal Telegram group and handling financial transactions under the instructions of the group’s main operator.
Palash, meanwhile, served as manager of the group’s main operation, ‘Mission’. He worked on commission, earning a minimum daily wage of Tk1,500.
When transactions were high, he received additional commission, which sometimes reached Tk20,000–25,000 daily.
He also used multiple SIM cards registered in his name to execute the syndicate’s illegal activities and supervised all operations of the ringleader.
The two suspects have been produced before the court, and police have requested ten days’ remand.
