A fraud ring lured people with the promise of easy loans, opened an office, collected money from residents of several unions and disappeared.
The ring is accused of taking about Tk 20 lakh from people in Kazirber and several other unions on the border in Moheshpur, Jhenaidah, by using the name and identity of COAST Foundation, a well-known non-governmental development organisation, and offering loans on easy terms. After collecting the money, those involved closed the office and went into hiding, leaving many local people in difficulty.
According to local sources, the ring set up an office in COAST Foundation’s name in the house of Ranga Mia at Jinnanagar Bazar in Kazirber union of Moheshpur upazila. It then campaigned among people in Kazirber and nearby unions, promising loans on easy terms. Hoping to get loans, many deposited various sums. Local people allege that about Tk 20 lakh was collected in this way from residents of several unions.
Members of the ring allegedly shut the office and vanished at around noon on Tuesday, 10 November 2026. When they could not be reached after that, the victims realised they had been cheated. Many poor and vulnerable families lost money they had worked hard for.
When the matter came to COAST Foundation’s attention, the organisation said the so-called loan operation run in its name in Moheshpur had no connection with any authorised activity of the real COAST Foundation. It works mainly in 12 coastal districts of the country, it said, and any financial dealings in its name in Moheshpur were entirely unauthorised.
On the instructions of COAST Foundation’s founder and executive director, representatives of the organisation went to Jinnanagar Bazar and the surrounding area with members of the law enforcement agencies. They spoke to the victims and promised to help uncover what happened and identify the fraudsters.
Speaking for COAST Foundation, Kamal Ahmed Akand thanked Moheshpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Sajjad Hossain and Moheshpur police station’s officer-in-charge, Imran Alam, for their help. He said a fraud ring had used the organisation’s name to collect a large sum in deposits in Moheshpur and had fled.
In a statement on 12 November, Mostafa Kamal Akand, COAST Foundation’s director (administration), said cheating ordinary people by using a development organisation’s name, identity and reputation was in no way acceptable. He called for an impartial investigation, for those responsible to be identified and brought to justice, and for the necessary legal steps so that the victims get their money back.
The victims have asked the administration and law enforcement agencies to intervene urgently so that they can recover their deposits. Those involved have also urged people, before depositing money in advance on the promise of a loan in any NGO’s name, to check with that organisation’s authorised office.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report