The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of Police has arrested five suspects for their alleged involvement with laundering nearly Tk 400 crore through digital hundi using Mobile Financial Services (MFS).
The arrestees are – Nasim Ahmed, 62, Fajle Rabbi Sumon, 32, Md Kamruzzaman, 33, Md Jahir Uddin, 37, and Md Khayrul Islam Piash, 34. They were arrested from Dhaka and Chattogram on Wednesday.
The CID team has also recovered six mobile phones, 18 SIM cards, one laptop, six modems and Tk 28.51 lakh, confirmed CID Chief Additional IGP Mohammad Ali Mia at a press briefing in his office on Thursday.
He added that the ringleader Shahidul Islam alias Mamun, who had been living in Dubai since 2020, made a Zet Robotic App to perform hundi digitally. Originally made by Malaysian software developers, such apps can be customised to serve specific purposes.
To facilitate money transactions, this ring collected agent SIMs in collaboration with Tasmia Associates, a bKash MFS distribution house in Chattogram. These SIMs were then used with laptops and computers through modems, and activated through the Zet Robotic App.
After that, Mamun handled the digital hundi operation from his Dubai office. The racket was used to collect foreign currency from expatriate Bangladeshis through their agents for hundi, said the CID chief.
Later, Mamun and his accomplices used apps from Dubai with names and phone numbers to send money directly to the expatriate's relatives, without involving any third party in the racket.
Stating that action will be taken against Mamun as per law even though he is currently in Dubai, CID Chief Mohammad Ali said, “We have identified several people who are involved in the racket, and efforts are underway to arrest them.
“After an investigation, those found involved with this digital hundi racket will be brought to book.”
