Mobile financial services provider bKash has sought Bangladesh Bank’s intervention to recover Tk8.85 crore allegedly lost in fraudulent transactions involving Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh.
The company has written to the central bank’s Payment Systems Supervision Department (PSSD), seeking assistance in resolving the long-standing dispute and recovering the money.
The incident dates back to November 2025, when Tk8.85 crore was transferred to bKash accounts between November 17 and 22 through Standard Chartered’s online banking service, ‘Add Money Through iBanking’. According to bKash, fraudsters bypassed the one-time password (OTP) verification process to initiate the transactions.
Although the bank’s system showed the money as transferred to bKash, the funds were allegedly not debited from customers’ bank accounts. The fraudsters subsequently withdrew the money from bKash.
Following the incident, the two institutions took opposing positions over responsibility for the disputed transactions. Standard Chartered temporarily suspended its Add Money service and reportedly held the mobile financial services platform responsible. However, bKash maintained that the transaction requests originated from the bank’s and its technology partner’s digital environment.
In its letter dated October 5, bKash said the transaction requests reached its system through a secure VPN tunnel and authorised IP addresses protected by RSA keys, digital certificates and private keys. Since the private keys remained under Standard Chartered’s control, bKash argued that the transactions could not have occurred without access to the bank’s systems.
bKash also said it had shared firewall data, VPN connection records and technical protocol information with the bank. However, Standard Chartered reportedly failed to provide the final-hop Cisco firewall logs requested during an international forensic investigation, saying such records had not been retained.
Following its own inspection, Bangladesh Bank reportedly found no inconsistencies in the evidence submitted by bKash. The central bank’s inspection also identified several security weaknesses and internal control deficiencies in Standard Chartered’s technology environment.
After a technical review, the two institutions reached an understanding at a meeting involving their chief executive officers and senior officials on April 5, 2026. Under the agreement, Standard Chartered was supposed to repay Tk8.85 crore to bKash within six months. The parties also agreed to work jointly with assistance from Bangladesh Bank and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) to recover the money.
However, the six-month deadline expired on October 5 without payment, according to bKash.
The company has now sought direct mediation and assistance from Bangladesh Bank, expressing concern over the recovery of the funds following Standard Chartered’s recent announcement that it would wind down its retail banking operations in Bangladesh.
When contacted, Standard Chartered Bank’s Head of Wealth and Retail Banking, Lutful Habib, said the bank’s review indicated that the disputed fund transfers had not originated from Standard Chartered and that no money had been deducted from its customers’ accounts.
“The matter remains under review and discussion, involving multiple parties across the broader payment ecosystem. Once the review is completed, the institution found responsible will take steps to compensate the affected parties in accordance with the country’s applicable laws,” he said.
Bangladesh Bank spokesperson Arif Hossain Khan said the central bank would certainly play a role if both parties sought its intervention.
“However, only the relevant department can provide an update on the progress of the letter,” he added.
