With the help of the corrupt bank officials, fake currency is also reportedly being included inside bundles of notes that are handed out by banks
A group of unscrupulous officials from both private and state-owned banks are allegedly working in cahoots with money counterfeiters to help circulate fake notes inside the banking system.
Counterfeiters reportedly pay large sums of money to management-level banking staffs to insert the counterfeit currencies inside ATM machines and bank lockers, which ensures that the fake notes are put to circulation without arousing suspicion.
The new technique that has been adopted by money counterfeiting gangs came to light after the arrest of Shambhunath Sarker, a former Sonali Bank cashier, in the capital last month.
In 2011, Shambhunath lost his job at the Sonali Bank when he was caught inserting counterfeit notes inside a bank locker. Since then, he had been working with counterfeiters until detectives arrested him with Tk30 lakh from Kamrangirchar on August 4.
With the help of the corrupt bank officials, fake currency is also reportedly being included inside bundles of notes that are handed out by banks.
Last week, a college teacher in Rajshahi found two fake notes in a bundle of Tk2 lakh that was provided by the district’s Sonali Bank corporate branch.
Asked about the issue, Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of Detective Branch of police, said they had recently found about some incidents and were now investigating the cases as well as arresting Shambhunath.
Police sources said investigators were now focusing on the areas from where the fake notes were being circulated. Intelligence officials are also reportedly keeping an eye on the banks and ATM booths where fake notes are frequently found.
When contacted, Md Habibur Rahman, deputy general manager of Bangladesh Bank’s currency department, told the Dhaka Tribune that the news of Shambhunath had not yet reached the head office of the bank, but added that he would now notify the authorities concerned.
He added that the central bank has also taken some special steps to prevent note counterfeiting ahead of the festivals of Eid-ul-Azha and Durga Puja.
Sources from different law enforcement agencies said 35 small and large-scale counterfeiting gangs were currently busy spreading fake notes across the country ahead of the festivals. All of these gangs reportedly operated out of Dhaka and gradually spread the fake money to other districts, DB sources said, adding that the gangs have been working hard for the last one month to ensure maximum profit during the festival season.
The Dhaka Tribune managed to contact a member of one of these gangs, who – on condition of anonymity – said at least Tk1 crore in fake money had already been spread across the country ahead of the festivals.
Apart from seeking the service of unscrupulous bank officials, the gangs also recruited young and attractive women to circulate the fake money, sources said, adding that these women were hired as they were likely to raise less suspicion among law enforcers and were more likely to be let go on the grounds of mercy even if they were caught.
DB sources said at least 50 members of counterfeiting gangs had been arrested over the last one and a half years, but all of them were now back to their profession after securing bail.
Sources said the leaders of the counterfeiting gangs included Duruzzaman alais Nuruzzaman Biswash, his associate Jalal Uddin, Shanta, Mohammad Maksuda, Lima Akther, Abdul Rahman, Khaliduzzaman, Babu Mia, Destiny Sujon and Manjurul Kamal. Several other alleged counterfeiters Humayun Kabir, Polash, Saiful Islam, Sumon, Alauddin and Shahin Akther recently secured bail from court.
A senior official from the Dhaka Metropolitan Police, preferring to stay unnamed, told the Dhaka Tribune that unlike other years, no special raid was carried out in the capital this year to arrest counterfeiters. The counterfeiters used the opportunity of slack vigilance to produce and circulate a large amount of fake money in recent months, he added.
However, DB Joint Commissioner Monirul denied the allegation and said raids to arrest counterfeiting gangs were under way and it was a continuous process.
“Like every year, we have taken top-notch security measures in shopping malls, cattle markets and also set up note detection machines to trace fake notes,” he added.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
