A fraudulent syndicate involving education officers, accounts staff, and select teachers has embezzled nearly Tk.10 crore from the General Provident Fund (GPF) of primary school teachers in Morelganj, Bagerhat. The scam carried out using fake loan applications and forged signatures has impacted at least 70 teachers with spreading panic among 1,500 government employees in the upazila.
A team from the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), led by Assistant Director Abul Kaiyum Howlader, launched an investigation on Tuesday. The team inspected records at the Morelganj Upazila Education Office, Accounts Office and Sonali Bank.
Following preliminary inquiries ACC confirmed that funds were fraudulently withdrawn from Sonali Bank using bogus bills and vouchers with official embossed seals. In violation of regulations, cash was withdrawn directly rather than being deposited into the affected teachers' bank accounts.
Upazila Accounts Officer Tanmoy Goswami stated that discrepancies totaling around Tk.7 crore have been detected so far, leading to the temporary suspension of several former office staff. Meanwhile, Upazila Education Officer Md. Shefainur Arefin confirmed that victims were completely unaware of the transactions until recently.
At least 14 affected teachers have submitted formal complaints to the Deputy Commissioner and the ACC. The ACC noted that while individual teachers will not bear the direct financial loss also the state treasury has incurred significant damage. Further investigations are ongoing to identify all members of the syndicate.
