Bangladesh Bank has identified Tk 82.44 lakh missing from the vault of BRAC Bank鈥檚 Chokoria branch in Cox鈥檚 Bazar.
The central bank鈥檚 inspection, conducted on December 22, revealed the shortfall between the official cash records and the actual vault balance as of December 19. This incident points to gross negligence and possible malpractice by branch staff.
In a letter addressed to BRAC Bank鈥檚 chairman, Bangladesh Bank instructed the bank to resolve the discrepancy, initiate legal proceedings against those involved, and report back within 10 days.
BRAC Bank stated that legal action had already been initiated, and part of the missing money had been recovered.
BRAC Bank identified a staff member as the primary suspect and handed him over to the police over the allegation of stealing the funds, bank officials claim
Ekram Kabir, the bank鈥檚 head of communication, said, 鈥榃e took immediate legal action against the person involved as soon as it was identified. He has been handed over to the police. We have already recovered Tk聽47 lakhs and are confident about recovering the remaining amount soon.鈥�
All deposits are insured, ensuring no customer faces any financial loss due to this incident. Our customers have never suffered from such issues, he also claimed.
Bankers said that incidents involving missing funds from bank vaults are not new in banking sector.
In May 2024, the Anti-Corruption Commission filed a case against a cashier at Agrani Bank鈥檚 Moulvibazar branch for misappropriating Tk 28.33 lakh from the bank鈥檚 vault.
Similarly, in September 2021, Tk 19 crore reportedly went missing from the vault of Union Bank鈥檚 Gulshan branch. During a routine inspection, Bangladesh Bank uncovered the shortfall between official records and the cash stored in the vault.