Home ›› 26 Sep 2021 ›› Front
Live streaming apps StreamKar and Bigo Live have siphoned Tk 130 crore from Bangladesh through banking and other channels by luring users into paying for chatting with celebrities, police say.
The two apps are banned in Bangladesh, but users access them through virtual private network (VPN) services. Four local private commercial banks and two foreign banks were involved in the process.
The Anti Terrorism Unit (ATU) says the apps have illegally collected around Tk 1,200 crore from Bangladeshi users, but the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is investigating the matter, says it does not have the evidence of the crime yet.
The CID says the apps arrange live sessions of both popular and less-known celebrities to attract users.
The ATU and the CID have arrested 11 people in two cases filed under the Digital Security Act. The cases were filed over collecting money from the apps’ users. Five of the arrestees were involved in collecting money from bKash agents who the apps’ users paid, and one is the Bigo Live country director for Bangladesh, a Chinese citizen.
On May 20 this year, another arrestee Monjurul Islam Hridoy, a StreamKar agent, confessed in court under Section 164 that film actress Moushumi, her husband Omar Sani, BappaRaj, Munmun, Moyuri, and singer Monir Khan had got payments to attend live sessions on StreamKar.
He also confessed that many other models had lured visitors for money. He disclosed eight StreamKar agents’ names. Of them, Jewel is an education ministry official, and Rokon Uddin is the vice-president of Chhatra League’s Chattogram metropolitan unit.
The CID says celebrities and models involved in the matter will face legal action.
It has sought information from the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) on transactions – which involved money collected from the apps’ users – made through two foreign banks.
SM Ashrafuzzaman, a special superintendent of CID’s cyber investigation and operation, told The Business Post the apps’ users had to buy virtual currencies named beans and gems to pay celebrities.
“One lakh beans cost Tk 1,080. The users bought the currencies from StreamKar and Bigo Live agents,” he said.
He said around 15-20 people are leading the virtual currency operations in Bangladesh, and they collect money from the apps’ users through bKash, Nagad, and also bank accounts. The currencies are then sent to the apps’ Hong Kong-based operators.
“We are trying to find out the whole ring and also the illegal money transaction channels,” he said.
He further said beans and gems can be converted to local currencies in other countries, and that is why it is easy to launder money from Bangladesh using those.
CID officials said StreamKar and Bigo Live operate from Hong Kong and the apps became popular in Bangladesh through Facebook advertisements last year.
The apps’ local operators recruited several commission-based agents in Bangladesh. The apps have two types of IDs – host and user. Host IDs are used by celebrities.
On May 19 this year, the ATU detained four people from Noakhali and the capital’s Banasree and Savar for allegedly selling gems and beans on StreamKar.
At the time, ATU Superintendent Md Mahiduzzaman told the media the video streaming ring had collected Tk 1,200 crore from Bangladeshi users.
He said over one lakh people had bought the virtual currencies through online banking, hundi, cryptocurrency, and a foreign bank.
“At least 11 StreamKar agents are working in Bangladesh. Around Tk 100 crore was transferred abroad via banking and other channels,” he said.
Despite a ban on gambling and several online money transfer services, such as Skrill and Neteller, many Bangladeshis play various online games, such as Teen Patti Gold, that involve gambling. Money is thus laundered from their game accounts, police say.
The BFIU said in its fiscal year 2019-20 report that 20 Bangladeshis had opened accounts with online gaming companies and had transacted around Tk 33 crore.
Several Skrill and Neteller users are making payments through bKash and Nagad, which is why the BFIU requested the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit to investigate the matter.
Deputy Inspector General of police and CTTC Chief Md Asaduzzaman told The Business Post it is alarming that people are accessing the banned video streaming apps through VPN and are laundering money in the process.
He said the government has taken some initiatives to block VPN operations in Bangladesh.
“If VPN operations are blocked, the banned apps’ users will no longer be able to access those,” he added.
