Chinese nationals among seven remanded in custody for illicit loans via app
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Debobrata Biswas also ordered five other Bangladeshis to be jailed in a case under the Digital Security Act on Friday.
The Chinese nationals on remand are Hi Minxi and Yang Ciki, and the Bangladeshis are Majumder Fazle Gofran, Ahsan Kamal, Himel Or Rashid, Nazmus Sakib and Jerin Tasnim Binte Islam.
The people sent to prison are Emanuel Edward Gomez, Arifuzzaman, Shahinoor Alam, Shuvo Gomez and Akram Ali.
Investigator Pran Krishna Sarker, a sub-inspector of the Cybercrime and Special Crime Unit of the General Directorate of Detectives, presented the 12 defendants in court in the case with the Dhanmondi police.
The sub-inspector requested 10-day pre-trial detention for the seven people, while defense lawyers pleaded for their release on bail, said Md Esharat Ali, a judicial police sub-inspector.
Police arrested 18 employees of New Miracle Fintech Bangladesh on their way to a picnic from their Baridhara DOHS office on Thursday, October 7, 2021. The company allegedly operated unauthorized credit activities online.
Police said the accused ran Thunder Light Techhnology Limited, New Vision Fintech Limited and Basic Development Society without government approval.
Their apps collected information from customers’ mobile phones, such as calendar events, camera, contacts, location, and messages, compromising the security of personal data.
The suspects were running high interest credit business on behalf of unsecured loans through apps like Tikala, Cashman, Rapid Cash and Mar Cash, which have the servers in China and operate out of the country.
Some Chinese nationals have lured customers into a low-interest loan fraud scheme through the apps, police said.
The case was filed after a client complained to the police.
Police arrested 18 New Miracle Fintech Bangladesh employees on Thursday as they were on their way to a picnic from their Baridhara DOHS office.
The development comes amid accelerated investigations into e-commerce companies allegedly defrauding billions of taka from customers and sellers in the name of huge discounts.
Police said the Chinese owners of New Miracle were carrying out unauthorized lending transactions using Bangladeshis on behalf of the microcredit. The company charges 100% monthly interest on the loans, according to law enforcement.