The Criminal Investigation Department has arrested a member of an organised fraud ring accused of embezzling around Tk 400 crore through a fake agro-based investment scheme.
CID Special Police Superintendent Jasim Uddin Khan confirmed the arrest on Tuesday. The suspect, Md. Obaidullah, 33, a resident of Bhola district, was detained from the Basabo area under Sabujbagh Police Station in Dhaka.
According to the case report, the group operated a fraudulent venture named “Najran Fisheries and Agro Project,” promising investors a monthly return of Tk 3,000 on an investment of Tk 1 lakh and a doubling of capital within 33 months.
In May 2023, a female complainant and three associates visited the group’s office near Kuril in the Bhatara area and initially invested Tk 12 lakh. To gain their trust, the group returned a small portion of the money early on.
Encouraged by these payments, the victims invested an additional Tk 50 lakh through bank transactions in July of the same year. They were later pressured into purchasing plots, bringing their total investment to Tk 1.63 crore. Of this, only Tk 18.72 lakh was returned before the group shut down its office and went into hiding.
Investigators said analysis of four company bank accounts and servers revealed transactions totaling approximately Tk 400 crore. In addition, about Tk 2.5 crore in transactions were traced through 14 personal bank accounts linked to the arrested suspect.
Earlier, in May 2025, around 15,000 victims staged a human chain and held a press conference, alleging embezzlement of up to Tk 800 crore.
After the case was filed, the accused went into hiding and switched off their mobile phones. CID officials later tracked and arrested Obaidullah using intelligence inputs and technical analysis.
Police said multiple fraud cases have been filed against him at Bhatara, Uttara Paschim and Savar police stations, with courts issuing arrest warrants in those cases.
Efforts are ongoing to arrest other members of the group. Authorities are preparing to produce the accused before the court with a remand application.
Bd-pratidin English/ Jisan
