Staff Correspondent
An expatriate Bangladeshi woman has alleged that jewellery worth nearly Tk 3 crore was withdrawn from a locker at Agrani Bank PLC’s Ramna Corporate Branch in Dhaka without informing her, with the alleged involvement of some dishonest bank officials and employees.
Farzana Rahman Lima, a Canadian expatriate, made the allegation, claiming that following their mother’s death her sister withdrew the jewellery through fraud documents from a locker jointly maintained in her name.
According to Farzana, she and her husband left Bangladesh on June 15, 2019. Before leaving the country, she kept her gold jewellery, valued at approximately Tk 1.5 crore at current market prices, in locker No. 409 at Agrani Bank PLC’s Ramna Corporate Branch, along with jewellery belonging to her mother, which she estimates to be worth around Tk 1.4 crore.
Farzana alleged that after returning home she went to the bank and learned that her jewellery had been withdrawn on September 24, 2024, without her knowledge or consent.
She claimed that her sister allegedly submitted a fabricated declaration to the bank using a forged version of Farzana’s signature and subsequently obtained the jewellery from the locker.
Farzana further alleged that the bank did not follow the required legal procedure for dealing with the locker after her mother’s death, particularly the requirement to produce a succession or inheritance certificate.
“When I went to the branch to verify the matter, I was informed that my locker had been closed,” Farzana said.
She questioned how the locker could have been closed and its contents withdrawn without a succession certificate and without her consent. According to her, bank officials failed to provide a satisfactory explanation when she sought clarification.
Farzana also alleged that her sister withdrew money from the bank using cheques bearing her signature.
She claimed that the alleged withdrawal of the jewellery and money could not have taken place without the assistance or negligence of certain bank officials and employees.
Farzana has sought an investigation into the alleged forgery, unauthorised closure of the locker and withdrawal of the jewellery, as well as the role of the bank officials involved.
The allegations could not be independently verified immediately. The bank’s response to the allegations was also not available at the time of filing this report.
