15 Chinese national arrested in Bangladesh for social media loan scams

The Detective Branch of Police has arrested 15 people including a Chinese national for operating loan scams through social media.

The mastermind behind this operation is identified as Zhang Ji Zhang, a 60-year-old Chinese national. The Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) showed them arrested in cases filed at Hatirjheel and Kafrul police stations in the capital, UNB reports.

The gang was involved in fraudulent schemes using social media for easy loan opportunities and job applications without any association with legitimate institutions. During the operation, police seized evidence from the suspects, uncovering information from 29 mobile banking accounts. Additional Commissioner and Chief of Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Mohammad Harun or Rashid on Saturday said the group had siphoned off over Tk 200 crore in the past two years. However, none of this money is in Bangladesh; it has all been transferred to China, he said.

During the last six months alone, more than Tk 50 crore had been transacted using the mobile banking accounts. The gang has victimized at least 1,500 people in the country. An app, developed by Chinese nationals, has its server in Singapore, and the call centres are located in Bangladesh and in Pakistan, the DB chief told journalists at his office.