The Bangladesh Bank (BB) has uncovered a cash discrepancy of Tk 82.44 lakh at the Chokoria branch of BRAC Bank in Cox’s Bazar, following a routine inspection.

The central bank’s inspection team discovered the mismatch between the cash in the branch vault and the bank’s books on December 19, 2024, a day before the formal inspection began on December 22. The inspection was based on the bank’s June 30, 2024 financial statement.

The BB’s findings categorize this as a serious banking irregularity, prompting the regulator to issue a letter to BRAC Bank’s chairman, demanding immediate corrective measures and legal action against those responsible.

In response to the central bank’s findings, BRAC Bank acted swiftly. According to Ekram Kabir, Head of Communications at BRAC Bank, the person responsible for the discrepancy has been identified and handed over to the police.

The bank has already recovered Tk 4.7 million of the missing funds and remains confident about recovering the remaining amount. Kabir assured that customer deposits are fully insured, and no customer has suffered any financial loss due to the incident.

“All customer deposits in the bank are fully insured, and no customer has ever suffered any financial loss in our bank due to such an incident,” Kabir told The Daily Star.

The Bangladesh Bank has instructed BRAC Bank to report back with the measures taken to address the issue within 10 working days. The central bank’s letter emphasized that such discrepancies are a serious breach of banking norms, requiring immediate legal action and preventive measures to avoid future occurrences.