14 Arrests Put SIMs and Crypto at Center of Bangladesh Betting Probe
Four suspects were detained in Tangail on September 13, bringing the number of arrests in the same investigation to 14. The case was opened on May 17 after cyber monitoring identified betting websites operating from inside and outside Bangladesh, according to BSS, citing CID’s September 14 update.
The latest raids add another layer to a case that has been developing since June rather than a standalone police action.
Four More Arrests Take the Case Total to 14
CID says the four latest suspects supplied SIM cards registered in their own names for use by online betting agents. Those cards were allegedly connected to deposits and withdrawals on betting platforms.
Investigators say members of the wider network recruited agents around Bangladesh and collected their mobile financial service and bank account details. Agents allegedly kept a commission from gambling proceeds, while the remaining money was transferred through bank accounts and cryptocurrency platforms for laundering abroad.
Earlier arrests were made in Tangail, Narsingdi, Narayanganj, Narail and Rajshahi. The Business Standard reported that the September operation brought the total to 14 and that investigators are still looking for people involved in supplying agent SIMs and processing transactions. The reported arrest timeline runs from June through September.
One earlier arrest also connected the investigation to an overseas-controlled operation. On August 20, CID said one of two suspects detained in the case was an administrator of an online gambling website allegedly controlled from Russia. The two arrests brought the case total to 10 at that stage.
More Than 12,600 SIMs Surfaced Across Two DB Operations
The CID investigation is not the only recent Bangladesh case centered on the infrastructure around betting payments. In a separate July operation, Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Detective Branch seized 6,600 SIM cards linked to MFS accounts.
Investigators said the network handled around Tk5 crore in transactions per day before converting funds into cryptocurrency and sending them abroad. The July raids also produced records of thousands of MFS accounts.
A separate DB operation in August produced around 6,000 active SIM cards. Police said they were being used in an online gambling and fraud scheme, with the network allegedly laundering Tk200–250 crore each month. Three Chinese nationals and one Bangladeshi were arrested in that case.
Combined, the two DB operations involved around 12,600 SIMs, based on a 15M calculation from the reported seizure figures. The investigations were separate and there is no indication that the two groups were part of the same network.
SIMs and Payment Accounts Remain a Focus
The current CID investigation is again centered on the accounts and SIMs used to move betting money. Investigators say agents were given access to locally registered SIM cards, MFS accounts and bank accounts for deposits and withdrawals.
Similar infrastructure appeared in the July and August DB cases. Both also led investigators beyond the initial betting transactions: cryptocurrency or overseas transfers featured in the alleged money flows.
The three investigations are separate, but the enforcement target is broader than the betting websites themselves. Police are also pursuing the people and accounts that make local deposits, withdrawals and onward transfers possible.
In the current case, CID says the investigation is continuing to identify more members of the network, suppliers of agent SIM cards and others involved in the financial transactions.