One fraudster, 60 cases, 36 warrants

He was a local correspondent for a national newspaper, in addition to working for a local newspaper during his student days. In 2003, the man opened an organisation called "Janata Multipurpose Cooperative Society" at his area in Kushtia.

Ten years later, Khandaker Abul Kalam Azad changed the organisation's name to "Janata Sanchay o Rindan Samabay Samity Limited" and started operations on a large scale, targeting people from lower-income backgrounds in various upazilas of Kushtia, Khulna, Magura, Jhenidah, Pabna, Sirajganj and Rajshahi.

At one point in 2017, Azad closed the company, after embezzling about Tk 70 crore from customers, and went into hiding.

With the money, he bought 15 bighas of land, a six-storey building and a brick-kiln in Kushtia, and 11 bighas of land in Rajshahi. Besides, he bought several luxury flats and cars in Dhaka's Uttara.

At least 60 cases have been filed against him over fraudulence. Warrants have been insured under 36 cases with different police stations.

Rab disclosed this information yesterday, after claiming to have finally arrested Azad, who had been on the run for almost five years, on Tuesday night from a hotel in the capital.

At the law enforcement agency's media centre, Rab Legal and Media Wing Director Commander Khandaker Al Moin said Azad had appointed himself as the company's president, while his two brothers and their wives were on the board of directors.

"Setting up 40 offices in different upazilas, they lured people with promises of high profits and stole crores from people. The money was collected monthly through a DPS-like system," said Moin.

"Their main targets were daily labourers, tea-shopkeepers, grocers and petty traders, and other people of similar backgrounds. To increase the number of customers, they used to attract people by announcing special packages and incentives," he said.

The official said in 2017, the number of customers exceeded 7,000. Customers would deposit Tk 10,000 to Tk 13 lakh. In 2017, the amount of savings and deposits of the company stood at around Tk 50 to 70 crore.

On Eid-ul-Fitr in 2017, Azad fled Dhaka by shutting down all the regional offices and cutting off all means of communication.

Rab said they had more than 800 commission-based workers, who used to bring in customers and collect money at the field level. They were not paid any salary. They used to lure customers with the promise of 18-20 percent annual returns on their investments.

The official said Azad did not pay any rent to the building owners who rented out spaces to him in different districts. He convinced them to invest in the organisation, saying that they would get three times the return after a stipulated time.