A Dutch-Bangla Bank agent in Bagerhat’s Sarankhola has disappeared after taking around Tk5 crore from more than 150 customers, many of whom say they handed over their life savings for unusually high returns.
Md Omar Faruk Raju has been missing since 23 September. Bank officials now say most of the deposit slips and transaction messages given to customers were fake.
Senior bank officials visited the Tafalbari agent banking outlet on 1 October, closed it and posted a notice. They also asked the victims to lodge complaints with the bank’s district branch.
Victims have filed a general diary with Sarankhola Police Station.
Customers said Raju accepted deposits, issued what appeared to be stamped slips and sent transaction messages from his own mobile number. They said they had no reason to suspect the documents or messages were fake.
Victims allege he used the method over a long period to collect nearly Tk5 crore from more than 150 people before disappearing.
Local sources suspect Raju may have left Bangladesh for Nepal and planned to travel on to Europe. TIMES could not independently verify the claims.
His family said they did not know where he was.
Raju, son of retired teacher Md Shah Alam Hawlader of Purba Sonatala village in Southkhali union, began operating the Tafalbari agent banking outlet in 2021.
Residents said he gradually gained customers’ trust through personal relationships and promises of unusually high returns.
Customers said Raju offered a monthly profit of Tk2,000 on every Tk1 lakh deposited, roughly double the bank’s return.
Khalek Panchayet said he deposited Tk35 lakh and received a slip he later learned was fake. Minara Begum deposited Tk38 lakh, Beauty Akter Tk10 lakh and Khalid Sardar Tk20 lakh.
Other reported deposits included Tk3 lakh by Jamal Hossain, Tk5 lakh by Jalil Gazi, Tk5.5 lakh by Panna Farazi, Tk9 lakh by Bellal Mia, Tk8.2 lakh by Russell Sharif, Tk4.5 lakh by Gias Mia, Tk3.5 lakh by Sajal Sheikh and Tk10 lakh by Babul Hawlader.
Victims estimate the total deposits at around Tk5 crore.
Since the outlet closed, customers have gathered outside it daily, many in tears. They said they had not realised the slips and transaction messages were not genuine bank records.
Tafalbari Bazar Committee President Razzak Mridha said Raju’s behaviour had helped him gain people’s confidence.
“He behaved well and people were impressed by him,” Mridha said, adding that customers now came to him daily with complaints.
He said he could do little beyond advising them to take legal action.
Local traders said this was not the first allegation involving Dutch-Bangla Bank agent banking in Sarankhola.
They claimed an operator of another Dutch-Bangla Bank agent outlet at Rayenda Bazar had earlier left the country after allegedly taking around Tk1.5 crore from customers.
The traders warned such incidents could undermine confidence in banking, particularly agent banking. They called for tighter supervision and urged customers to verify official bank receipts, transaction messages and account information.
Sheikh Obaidul Islam, senior sales manager for Dutch-Bangla Bank’s agent banking operations in Bagerhat district, said officials visited the Tafalbari outlet after receiving complaints and ordered it closed.
“We spoke to the victims. Those who have valid deposit receipts have been asked to submit complaints to the district branch,” he said.
“After checking the documents, those whose claims are proved genuine can have their deposits returned if they wish.”
Islam said officials initially found valid deposit slips covering about Tk30 lakh among customers who came forward.
“The remaining deposit slips appeared to be fake,” he said.
He said the agent appeared to have issued false slips over a long period without customers realising it.
Islam said Dutch-Bangla Bank held a customer gathering at the Tafalbari outlet last December and warned customers about such risks, but no complaint was raised then.
Had customers complained at the time, he said, the current losses might have been avoided.
He said the bank would file a case against Raju over the fraud and damage to its reputation.
Sarankhola Police Station Officer-in-Charge Rokeya Khanam said customers had submitted an application seeking to file a general diary over Raju’s alleged disappearance with their money.
Police would investigate and take legal action, she said.
TIMES tried to contact Raju, but his phone was switched off.
His father, Shah Alam Hawlader, said Raju left home on the morning of 23 September, saying he was going to visit a friend in Pirojpur.
“His phone has been switched off since then. I cannot say where he is,” Hawlader said.
He said no one had previously told him that his son owed customers such large sums.
“Now many people are coming with complaints. But what can I do? I do not have the ability to repay so much money,” he said.
A senior Dutch-Bangla Bank official at its headquarters in Dhaka said customers should have followed awareness instructions, including insisting on printed official receipts and transaction confirmation SMS from the bank’s hotline number.
“Also, they should have been cautious about the abnormal return the agent was promising,” he said, adding that customers should have reported the matter much earlier, before the agent fled.
