An organized cyber-extortion gang has been issuing threats and demanding money via email to several foreign embassies and government offices in Bangladesh, according to the Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
Speaking at a press briefing held at the DMP Media Centre on Sunday, DB Chief and Additional Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam disclosed that the primary objective of the criminal syndicate appears to be creating panic among foreign diplomats and tarnishing the country’s international image.
Detectives initiated a formal inquiry after three to four foreign embassies alongside several government departments lodged official complaints regarding extortion threats received via electronic mail. In their threat communications, the perpetrators provided specific mobile financial service (bKash) account numbers to collect the demanded funds.
Investigating officers traced the accounts and brought several registered owners in for questioning. However, police confirmed that these individuals were entirely innocent members of the public who were unaware their account details were being exploited by fraudsters.
The DB chief clarified that the extortion campaign against diplomatic missions operates independently and has no link to recent physical attacks or extortion attempts directed at medical professionals in Dhaka.
While the syndicate managed to extract small sums of money in a few isolated instances, police prevented any significant financial losses. Law enforcement agencies have arrested four suspects in connection with the racket, while three to four additional individuals remain under active intelligence surveillance.
Initial background checks revealed no prior criminal records for the arrested suspects across other police stations, suggesting the group recently adopted this novel method of digital extortion. A targeted police operation remains underway to apprehend the remaining members of the syndicate and hold them accountable under existing law.
