A new case of embezzling 16 cheques of Jashore Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education and embezzling another Tk 2.43 crore from the bank has been caught recently.
Madhav Chandra Rudra, Acting Chairman of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education and Controller of Examinations, confirmed that the matter has been reported to the Anti Corruption Commission (ACC).
The two-point audit investigation has so far found embezzlement of Tk 5,949,696 crore through a total of 26 cheques from Jashore Education Board’s bank account.
Evidence of embezzlement of Tk 2.43 crore has also been found. Internal audits caught the embezzlement. The board authorities have already informed the ACC about this in writing.
Analysis of the 16 new fraud cheques shows that, in the embezzlement of the first 11 cheques, Prof Abdul Alim was the Chairman of the board while, Prof Tabibar Rahman and Dr Mollah Amir Hossain were working as secretaries. The fraud ring has been involved in this cheque fraud for the last 5 years.
At first, Tk 2.5 crore was deducted through 9 cheques and later through another cheque, about Tk 16 lakh was withdrawn from the bank account of the board. The ACC has investigated and filed a case against those involved.
Allegedly, an organised group has been emptying the bank account of the board by embezzling crores of taka for long time.
Jashore Education Board’s Acting Chairman and Controller of Examinations Madhav Chandra Rudra confirming that another Tk 2.43 crore has been withdrawn from the bank by forging 16 cheques said that the matter was reported to the ACC on last Thursday.
According to the Board of Education sources, the newly caught fraud money has been deposited in the bank accounts of 2 officers and employees of the board along with nine other organisations.
Of this, a cheque of Tk 94,316 was issued on September 18, 2019 in the name of Abul Kalam Azad, Section Officer of the Board but 30 lakh 98 thousand taka was withdrawn through that cheque. The money was deposited in Abul Kalam Azad's bank account on October 7, 2019.
Besides, Accounting Assistant Abdus Salam had withdrawn Tk 25.8 lakh on March 4 by forging a cheque issued for TK 6,195 on March 1, 2020.
Out of the 9 companies, the highest number of 4 cheques was forged by Nur Enterprise, located on Jame Masjid Lane in Jashore town. A total of Tk 3,012,468 went to the bank account of this company through those four cheques.
Besides, Business IT organisation had withdrawn Tk 570,834 through a cheque of Tk 12,276 and Messrs Khwaja Printing Press had withdrawn Tk 474,430 through a cheque of Tk 298,530.
Meanwhile, Nihar Printing Press, Samia Electronics, Mim Printing Press and Shahilal Store each had withdrawn a huge amount of money through forging cheques from the bank account of the Board of Education. The total amount of money withdrawn by these five organisations through forged cheques is more than Tk 69 lakh.
Sources say that the first embezzlement took place in August 2017. Since then, a total of 26 cheque frauds have been detected. During this time several chairmen and secretaries have served in the board. As such, these embezzling cheques have been signed by multiple chairmen and secretaries.
Emdadul Haque, Deputy Director of Accounts and Audit at Jashore Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, said, “We have also found evidence of forgery of cheques worth about TK. 2.5 crore. I have lodged another complaint in this regard with the ACC on October 21.”
This fraud was first committed when Mollah Amir Hossain (now chairman) was the secretary of the board and Abdus Salam of the board was then in charge of the accounting branch.
Deputy Director of ACC in Jashore, Nazmus Sadat said, “We have found proofs of forging cheques worth TK. 2.5 crore more. Who are involved in this incident will be found out soon.”
On October 18 this year, the ACC filed a case accusing 5 people of embezzling Tk 2.5 crore. Mahfuz Iqbal, Assistant Director of the ACC's integrated district office in Jashore had filed the case then.
