United News of Bangladesh

A Dhaka court on Monday sentenced five people including, Helena Jahangir, expelled leader of an  Awami League sub-committee, to two years imprisonment in a fraud case filed with Pallabi Police Station. Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Tofazzal Hossain handed down the judgment. The court also fined them Tk 2000 each, in default, to suffer two months more imprisonment. The four other convicts are-- Hazera Khatun, general manager of Helena Jahangir's IPTV Joyjatra television, its coordinator Sanaullah Nuri, chief news editor Quamruzzaman Arif and staff reporter Mahfuz Shahrier. Also Read: Court fixes Mar 20 for delivering judgment in case against Helena Jahangir, 4 others The court also issued warrants for the arrest of Helena and Hazera for not to appear before the court during the hearing. On March 14, the court fixed March 20 for delivering the judgment in the case after concluding the law-point arguments from both the defense and state counsel sides. Abdur Rahman Tuhin, Bhola district correspondent of Joyjatra television, filed the case against Helena and four others with Pallabi Police Station on August 2, 2021. Also Read: Helena Jahangir gets bail in DSA case, may walk out of jail soon According to the prosecution, Helena Jahangir took Tk 54,000 from Tuhin for appointing him as a district correspondent of the television. After joining the television, he did not get any remuneration for several months. On the other hand, the television authorities used to take Tk 3,000 from him every month. On November 21, 2021, inspector Shahinur Islam of Criminal Investigation Department (CID) submitted chargesheet against Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate court. On July 29, 2021, members of Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) arrested Helena Jahangir, 49, from her residence in the city’s Gulshan-2 area. The elite force members "seized foreign liquor, illegal walkie-talkie sets, casino equipment and deer skins" from her possession. Four separate cases were filed against Helena.      

NEW DELHI (AP/UNB) — Embattled Indian billionaire Gautam Adani said Thursday his conglomerate will review its plans for raising capital after calling off his flagship company’s $2.5 billion share offering following the loss of tens of billions of dollars in market value due to claims of fraud by a U.S.-based short-selling firm. Adani Enterprises canceled the share sale late Wednesday, citing “market volatility.” Stocks in the coal mines to ports empire sank after Hindenburg Research, which has a track record of sending stock prices of its targets tumbling, accused the group of “brazen” stock market manipulation and accounting fraud, among other financial abuses. The share sale was seen as a crucial test of investor confidence in Adani, whose net worth shot up about 2,000% in recent years as share prices for his listed companies soared. By the time trading closed Wednesday, Adani Enterprises was down by a whopping 28%. But the share offering had drawn nearly 51 million bids, exceeding the 45.5 million offered to the public. Stock in six of Adani’s other listed companies sank between 2% and 19%. Early Thursday, Adani Enterprises was down by 5%. Stocks in four of Adani’s other listed companies were down by 10% and two others sunk between 5% and 8%.In a video address Thursday, Adani said the decision to scrap the share offering was made “to insulate the investors from potential losses.” “For me, the interest of my investors is paramount and everything else is secondary,” he said. Adani Enterprises said in a statement that it would withdraw the transaction and return the money to its investors. The decision would not “have any impact on our existing operations and future plans,” it said, adding that the group’s balance sheet was “very healthy” with strong cashflows and secure assets. Adani made a vast fortune mining coal as energy-hungry India grew swiftly after its economy was liberalized in the 1990s. Adani companies operate airports in major cities, build roads, generate electricity, manufacture defense equipment, develop agricultural drones, sell cooking oil and run a media outlet. Hindenburg said it was betting against the group, accusing it of “pulling the largest con in corporate history.” It said it judged the seven key Adani listed companies to have an “85% downside, purely on a fundamental basis owing to sky-high valuations.” Most of the allegations involved concerns about the group’s debt levels, activities of top executives, use of offshore shell companies to artificially boost share prices and past investigations into fraud. It listed 88 questions for the group to answer. Adani Group dismissed Hindenburg’s allegations, and called its report a “calculated attack on India, the independence, integrity and quality of Indian institutions, and the growth story and ambition of India.” On Sunday, it issued a 413-page report that rejected its questions, saying none were “based on independent or journalistic fact finding.” Adani’s response included documents and data tables. It said the group has made all necessary regulatory disclosures and abided by local laws. The stock losses on Wednesday cost Adani his title as the richest man in Asia and in India. Adani also slid from a ranking of being the world’s third richest man to the 13th as his fortune plummeted to $72 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index. Prior to the Hindenburg report, his net worth was about $120 billion.

Speakers at a discussion have said that proper regulatory measures could help boost the e-commerce business in Bangladesh by creating a sustainable image of the sector already wounded by some bad examples of fraud in the recent past. They say the development of the sector is helping the economy in ways as the sector is set to expand further over the next few years. Citing some research work, they say the business-to-customer e-commerce market in Bangladesh is expected to grow by 17.61% on an annual basis, aimed at reaching Tk65,966 crore in 2022. The e-commerce market size in 2021 was about Tk56,870 crore and will be around Tk1.5 lakh crore by 2026, they say adding that the sector is gaining momentum through the country’s registered e-commerce companies, non-registered online platforms and social media-based trading pages where mostly young people are engaged as entrepreneurs. Read more: Tipu Munshi expects sugar prices to drop in line with import duty

The Detective Branch (DB) of Gulshan Division of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has claimed to have arrested four members of a fraud ring for ripping off Mastercard and Visa cardholders by hacking into their accounts. The arrestees are Md Sohel Mir, Md Nazmul Hossain, Parul and Md Tara Mia. Read: Teen gansters stab teenager to death in Khulna On Friday and Saturday, a team of DB Gulshan conducted several raids in Dhaka, Faridpur and Savar and arrested them, Mohammad Harun-or Rasheed, additional commissioner of DMP, said Saturday. As Visa and Mastercard are being used for electronic payment, shopping and withdrawal of money from ATM booths and mobile recharging, the gang was hacking into the accounts of card users and ripping them off for a long time. A member of this gang would collect the mobile numbers of cardholders and send them to Nazmul and Sohel, Harun-or Rasheed said. Read: Kushtia youth arrested 'for hurting religious sentiments' on Facebook Sohel and Nazmul, posing as officers of the card division of various banks, including Standard Chartered and Brac, called the numbers of Visa and MasterCard users. They would tell the cardholders that their information had to be updated immediately or else their cards would be suspended. Many cardholders with large account balances panicked and did as the fraudsters said, Harun-or Rasheed added. "Several cases were filed at Gulshan, Banani and Hatirjheel police stations in this regard. Also, efforts are underway to arrest other members of the gang," the additional commissioner said.  

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) claimed to have arrested six members of a fraud ring from Dhaka's Mirpur as they swindled a large sum of money from job seekers with false promises. The accused are Md Masum Billah, 33, Khairul Alam Rocky, 20, Md Kamruzzaman, 22, Md Mahmudul Hasan, 32, Masud Rana, 24, and SM Raihan, 24. Rab also seized cash, eight mobile phones, SIM cards, fake appointment letters; a keyboard, CPU, monitor, laptop, and resumes of job seekers during its drive Wednesday, Superintendent of Police Bina Rani Das of Rab-3 said Thursday. Read: 6 fraud gang members involved in making 144 types of fake certificates held The arrestees published fake advertisements for different jobs – including those of security guards, assistant supervisors, and marketing officers – on social media using the name SSF Private Company. The fraudsters told the police that they were also deceived by fake job advertisements on social media before making a profession out of it. Legal actions will be taken against the arrestees, Bina Rani said.

The ‘Payment and Settlement Systems Bill, 2022 was placed in Parliament on Monday with a provision for punishing top bank officials for committing bank fraud through digital cheques. Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal placed the Bill before it was sent to the respective parliamentary standing committee. The committee was asked to submit its report within 30 days. As per the bill, punishment could be a maximum five years of imprisonment or Tk 50 lakh fine, or both. A provision has been included in the draft law to remove the owner, director, chief executive, manager, secretary or any other official of the company in the case of offences committed by the bank or the company. Also read: Mass media bill placed in Parliament, sent to standing committee The proposed law has mentioned punishment for various crimes, but it is not applicable for mobile banking services. There were regulations, but no precise law governing bank payments and settlements was there. Now it’s going digital. These were not there in the regulations. That’s why the whole system has been brought under the proposed law separately. In the bill, there are 47 sections, including provisions for electronic money transfers, but cryptocurrency, or virtual currency has not been included in it. Cryptocurrency is not approved as a medium of exchange by the central bank. The law has particular sections that outline offences. Section 4/5 defines how transactions will be conducted, how payments will be made, how they’ll be managed and how services will be offered. The draft also includes rules regarding board management, the minimum investment needed to be a member of the board, ownership and management, management of inspections, and rules of service. Also read: Report on EC formation Bill placed in parliament Provisions include the transfer of funds through electronic means and the issuing of digital funds by the central bank.” Section 37 of the draft law outlines the punishment for those who commit offences. Section 39 specifies that Bangladesh Bank can remove the owner, director, chief executive, manager, secretary or any other official of a company because of any offences they commit or are involved in.

Three days after he was reported missing Dhaka University stduent Hamid Sikder Himel was on Monday found imprisoned in Tangail jail, a magistrate said. He was held on Friday while giving a proxy exam on behalf of a candidate in the recruitment tests for deputy food inspector post of Directorate General of Food, said Md Ataur Rahman Rabby, executive magistrate of district commissioner’s office on Monday. On Friday Himel, a masters student at DU chemistry department, was given a one-month jail term by a mobile court, he said. Also read: 3 missing sisters fled Dhaka home for the love of father, Rab found them During the hearing he was asked several times about his parent’s address and phone number but he didn’t provide any, said the magistrate. On early Friday, Himel told his roommates in Shahidullah Hall of DU that he was going home in Sakhipur upazila in Tangail. His personal phone number remained unreachable since then and his family members started worrying about his safety. On Saturday his cousin Mahfuz Talukder , another DU student filed a general diary at the Shahbagh police station reporting Himel as missing. Also read: Fake vocational examinee arrested from exam center Himel is a student of masters at Chemistry department in Dhaka University.

Fallen Silicon Valley star Elizabeth Holmes, accused of bamboozling investors and patients about her startup Theranos and its medical device that she said would reshape health care, took the witness stand late Friday in her trial for criminal fraud. The surprise decision to have Holmes testify so early in her defense came as a bombshell and carries considerable risk. Federal prosecutors, who rested their months-long case earlier on Friday, have made it clear that they're eager to grill Holmes under oath. Prosecutors aren't likely to get that chance until after the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Holmes attorney Kevin Downey told U.S. District Judge Edward Davila that he expects to continue steering her through her story when she returns to the stand Monday and again Tuesday in a San Jose, California, courtroom before the trial breaks until Nov. 29. READ:  Credit Card Fraud Prevention: How to Protect Your Credit Card Online? Prosecutors called 29 witnesses to support their contention that Holmes endangered patients' lives while also duping investors and customers about Theranos’ technology. Among them was Gen. James Mattis, a former U.S. defense secretary and former Theranos board member, who explained how he was first impressed and ultimately disillusioned by Holmes. They also presented internal documents and sometimes salacious texts between Holmes and her former lover, Sunny Bulwani, who also served as Theranos’ chief operating officer. In court documents, Holmes' attorneys have asserted she was manipulated by Balwani through “intimate partner abuse" — an issue that is expected to come up during her ongoing testimony next week. Until she took the stand Friday, Holmes had sat bolt upright in her chair to the far right of the jury through the trial, impassive even when one-time supporters testified to their misgivings about Theranos. That combination of compelling testimony and documentary evidence apparently proved effective at convincing Holmes to tell her side of the story to the jury of 10 men and four women (including two alternates) who will ultimately decide her fate. If convicted, Holmes -- now 37 and mother to a recently born son -- could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison. Shortly after 3 p.m., Holmes walked slowly to the stand before a rapt courtroom filled with spectators and jurors, all wearing masks. Maskless behind a transparent barrier, Holmes recounted her early years as a student at Stanford University and her interest in disease detection. That culminated in her decision to drop out of school in 2003 at the age of 19 to found the startup that eventually became Theranos. Holmes said the name was derived from the words “therapy” and “diagnosis”. Holmes said she convinced her parents to let her use her college savings to finance her ambitions to shake up the health care industry. “I started working all the time ... trying to meet people who could help me could build this,” Holmes said in a husky voice that became one of her trademarks during Theranos' rise. As the company took shape, so did its vision. Ultimately Theranos developed a device it called the Edison that could allegedly scan for hundreds of health problems with a few drops of blood. Current tests generally each require a vial of blood, making it both slow and impractical to run more than a handful of patient tests at a time. READ:  Sepp Blatter, Platini indicted for fraud in Switzerland Had it worked as promised, the Edison could have revolutionized health care by making it easier and cheaper to scan for early signs of disease and other health issues. Instead, jurors heard recordings of Holmes boasting to investors about purported breakthroughs that later proved to be untrue. Witness testimony and other evidence presented in the trial strongly suggested that Holmes misrepresented purported deals with major pharmaceutical firms such as Pfizer and the U.S. military while also concealing recurring problems with the Edison. But the Edison problems didn't become public knowledge until The Wall Street Journal published the first in a series of explosive articles in October 2015. An audit by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services confirmed those problems the following year. By then, Holmes and Balwani had raised hundreds of millions of dollars from billionaire investors such as media mogul Rupert Murdoch and the Walton family of Walmart and struck deals with Walgreens and Safeway to conduct blood tests in their pharmacies. Those investments at one point valued Theranos at $9 billion, giving Holmes a $4.5 billion fortune — on paper — in 2014. Evidence presented at trial also revealed that Holmes had distributed financial projections calling for privately held Theranos to generate $140 million in revenue in 2014 and $990 million in revenue in 2015 while also turning a profit. A copy of Theranos' 2015 tax return presented as part of the trial evidence showed the company had revenues of less than $500,000 that year while reporting accumulated losses of $585 million. Ellen Kreitzberg, a Santa Clara University law professor who has been attending the trial, said she thought the government had made a strong case. “There’s nothing sort of fancy or sexy about this testimony," she said. “The witnesses were very careful in their testimony. None of the witnesses seemed to harbor anger or a grudge against her. And so because of that, they were very powerful witnesses.” Other witnesses called by the government included two former Theranos lab directors who repeatedly warned Holmes that the blood-testing technology was wildly unreliable. Prosecutors also questioned two part-time lab directors, including Balwani's dermatologist, who spent only a few hours scrutinizing Theranos' blood-testing technology during late 2014 and most of 2015. Holmes' lawyers noted that part-time lab directors were allowed under government regulations. Other key witnesses included former employees of Pfizer, former Safeway CEO Steve Burd and a litany of Theranos investors, including a representative for the family investment firm of former education secretary Betsy DeVos. The DeVos family wound up investing $100 million.

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) members have arrested 10 people, including the project director of Karnaphuli Multipurpose Cooperative Society, on charges of fraud from Pallabi area in the capital. A Rab team conducted a drive at Karnaphuli office of the Society in the Pallabi area from Monday noon to night and arrested project director Shakil Ahmmed,30, and nine others. The other arrestees are Md Chan Mia, 38, AK Azad, 35, Md Rezaul,22, Md Tajul Islam, 31, Md Shahabuddin Khan, 28, Abdus Sattar, 37, Md Masum Billa, 29, Md Titu Mia, 28, and Md Atiqur Rahman,28. The Rab team conducted the drive following specific complaints by some victims, said Rab-4 commanding officer and additional DIG of police Md Mozammel Haque during a press briefing at Rab media centre on Tuesday. Fieldworkers of the Society used to target low-income people living in different slums of Mirpur and hooked them promising high interest from investment and installment-based savings with the Society.  Read: Digital Microfinance: DB arrests five e-loan frauds Arrested Shakil and Chan Mia used to allure people promising huge earning from a small investment within a short period of time, Mozammel said.