DBBL officials among nine sued over Tk85 lakh cheque fraud

A case has been filed against nine people, including officials of Dutch-Bangla Bank PLC (DBBL), over the alleged embezzlement of Tk85 lakh from a woman's bank account through cheque forgery at the bank's Dania branch in the capital.

The complainant, identified as Nargis Akter, filed the case with the court of Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Ashraful Haque on Wednesday.

The court recorded the complainant's statement and directed the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to investigate the allegations and submit a report, court sources said.

The accused named in the case include Mohit Morshed, assistant vice-president and deputy manager of Dutch-Bangla Bank's Dania branch; Sourav Saha, assistant officer; Md Rafiqul Islam, remittance officer; and Md Golam Kibria, branch manager and vice-president.

The other accused are Global Golden Jute and Craft Ltd, the company's chairman Mohammad Mahbub Hossain, managing director Md Hakim Ali Sardar, manager Kazi Enamul Kabir, and another person, Shawkat Hasan.

According to the case statement, the complainant had deposited a total of Tk1.11 crore in her account at the Dania branch from the sale of her property and car, as well as savings from house and shop rents.

She claimed that although she could sign her name, she was unable to read or write, and bank officials used to fill in the necessary details on cheques and deposit slips when she deposited or withdrew money through cheques. She also withdrew Tk2 lakh with their assistance on 13 September.

The complainant alleged that when she went to withdraw Tk5 lakh on 17 September, bank officials took her signature on a cheque from her cheque book and some pre-written blank papers on the pretext of opening a DPS account. They subsequently handed her Tk5 lakh.

The case statement said she withdrew another Tk6 lakh from the bank on 29 September. Later, on 4 October, when she visited the bank to check her account balance, she was informed that only Tk3.35 lakh remained in the account.

When she asked about the missing money, a bank official told her that Tk85 lakh had been paid to Global Golden Jute and Craft Ltd through her cheque on 23 September. She was also told that she had signed a Positive Pay Instruction (PPI) form for the transaction.

She collected the cheque, account statement and PPI form from the bank and discovered the alleged forgery. According to the complaint, bank officials, acting in collusion, had forged her signature and filled in the amount, payee's name and date on a cheque from her cheque book to prepare the PPI form.

The Tk85 lakh was subsequently transferred through the cheque to the company's account at Pubali Bank's Rajbari branch, and accused Shawkat Hasan withdrew the money, the complaint claimed.

The complainant also claimed that although she had been given Tk6 lakh through one cheque on 17 September, another cheque from the same cheque book had allegedly been used to show a payment of Tk85 lakh on 23 September.

She alleged that bank officials had kept the cheque in their custody without her knowledge and subsequently used it for the fraudulent transaction.

The case was filed under Sections 379, 409, 420, 465, 567, 468, 471 and 109 of the Penal Code.