The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has arrested a former bank official for allegedly embezzling around Tk 5 lakh by using a customer’s credit card.

The arrested person has been identified as Sarwar Hossain, 40, son of Golam Mawla.  

A team of CID’s Dhaka Metropolitan, West, unit arrested him on Monday afternoon from Gulshan.

According to the case statement, Sarwar Hossain was working as a Senior Relationship Officer  at a reputed bank in 2017 when a customer applied for a credit card in his name.

Although the customer later returned the card to the bank but the accused  did not submit it to the bank and instead kept it in his possession.

He allegedly used fake mobile numbers and addresses to maintain control of the card, ensuring that all OTPs were sent to him, and subsequently carried out fraudulent transactions using the credit card.

Recently, the victim came to know from a Credit Information Bureau (CIB) report that a loan had been issued against his name in 2017, which he was completely unaware of and had never applied for.

The victim later lodged a written complaint with Bangladesh Bank, bringing the matter to the attention of the bank authorities. Following an internal investigation, the fraud was detected, and a case was filed with Tejgaon Industrial Area Police Station.

Investigation revealed that a total of Tk 17,70,213 was transacted using the credit card between late 2017 and mid-2022.

Of the total amount, Tk 14,13,500 was later repaid, while Tk 5,56,995, including outstanding liabilities, was allegedly embezzled.

CID officials said Sarwar Hossain abused the trust placed in him while working at the bank to commit the fraud. He left the job in 2019 but allegedly continued transactions using the credit card.

CID’s Dhaka Metropolitan ,West, unit is currently investigating the case, and operations are ongoing to identify and arrest others involved.