The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has initiated legal action against Hemayet Karim, manager of the Bonogram Bazar branch of Janata Bank in Pabna, accusing him of embezzling Tk 78,285,804 through a series of serious financial irregularities.

The case was lodged on Wednesday, 5 November, by Momin Uddin, Assistant Director of the ACC’s Pabna Coordination District Office, who filed the complaint on behalf of the commission.

According to the case statement, Hemayet Karim is alleged to have abused his authority over a period spanning 13 July 2022 to 15 October 2024, during which he reportedly orchestrated an elaborate scheme to siphon funds from customer accounts and bank operations. The ACC claims that he engaged in the forgery of clients’ signatures, issued new cheque books without customer authorisation, and prepared fabricated cash and transfer vouchers to facilitate unauthorised withdrawals and transfers.

He also allegedly manipulated the bank’s internal software to conduct illicit transactions, bypassing established verification mechanisms. The complaint further asserts that Hemayet Karim received sanctioned loan amounts without delivering the funds to the legitimate borrowers, thereby misappropriating the disbursed sums for personal gain.

These acts, the ACC states, collectively resulted in the misappropriation of more than Tk 7.8 crore, a substantial breach of trust for an individual in a senior banking role.

The commission has charged Hemayet Karim under the relevant sections of anti-corruption and criminal law, citing deliberate misuse of official powers, deception, and financial fraud. An investigation is now underway to trace the full extent of the embezzlement, recover the misappropriated funds, and identify any potential accomplices or oversight failures within the branch.

The ACC has reiterated its commitment to pursuing accountability in financial institutions, emphasising that breaches of fiduciary duty—particularly those affecting public sector banks—will be met with firm legal action.