Mahbubur Rahman Tipu, Dohar (Dhaka) 

Clients of Shahjalal Islami Bank in Dohar have accused the former manager of the Joypara branch, Shahidul Islam, of embezzling nearly Tk 3 crore from their fixed deposits without depositing the funds into the bank. The affected clients have lodged complaints, seeking the return of their money.

The clients, including former chairman of Bishalpur Union, Md. Alauddin Molla, Vice-President of the National Rural Development Cooperative Federation, Nafis Chowdhury, Abul Hossain from Choudhuripara, Mahmudha Laki Akter from Dohar Khalapara, Borhanul Haque and Jamal Ahmed from Joypara, as well as expatriates Rokshana Begum and Fatema Akter, have alleged fraud and financial malpractice by the former bank official.

The victims of the scam recently held a press conference at the Dhaka Press Club, demanding the return of their deposited funds.

Meanwhile, the acting branch manager of the Joypara branch, Mizanur Rahman, confirmed that a case was filed against Shahidul Islam on March 4 at Dohar Police Station. The case is currently under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

In the written complaint from the bank authorities, it was mentioned that Shahidul Islam, who failed to report to work between February 9 and 18, was issued a notice by the bank’s human resources department on February 20. Despite efforts to contact him, he remained absent from the bank. Upon checking CCTV footage and other evidence, it was discovered that Islam, under the guise of the bank manager, had been involved in illicit financial dealings with local people outside the bank’s official records, damaging the bank’s reputation. Consequently, legal action was initiated against the former employee.

One of the affected clients, former chairman Alauddin Molla, explained that he had opened a fixed deposit account (Account No. 0000071) at Shahjalal Islami Bank’s Joypara branch in February with an initial deposit of Tk 90 lakh for his business, Laki Enterprise. On March 2, he submitted a written request to the bank, adding an additional Tk 10 lakh to make the total deposit Tk 1 crore. However, the bank issued him a receipt and security checks, which were later revealed to be fraudulent. When he approached the newly assigned bank official, Abdul Rakib Talukdar, for a solution, he was told that there was nothing he could do. Talukdar further advised him to file complaints with Bangladesh Bank’s Governor, the Chairman of Shahjalal Islami Bank, the Head of the Bank's Department, the Deputy Director of the ACC, and Dohar Police Station.

The total amount involved in the fraudulent scheme amounts to Tk 3.22 crore, with affected individuals such as Nafis Chowdhury (Tk 60 lakh), Abul Hossain (Tk 30 lakh), Mahmudha Laki Akter (Tk 30 lakh), Borhanul Haque (Tk 20 lakh), Jamal Ahmed (Tk 15 lakh), Rokshana Begum (Tk 45 lakh), and Fatema Akter (Tk 32 lakh). All victims have called on the government to assist them in recovering their embezzled funds and seek justice for the financial harm caused.

The authorities continue to investigate the case, and legal action is being pursued against the former bank manager, Shahidul Islam.