bKash faces fine over 7,000 fake accounts aged up to 150 years
Bangladesh Bank has asked mobile financial service provider bKash to explain why it should not be fined over thousands of suspected fake accounts.
Bangladesh Bank has sought an explanation from mobile financial service provider bKash after detecting more than 7,000 suspected fake accounts on its platform. The central bank issued a show-cause notice on 3 November under the Payment and Settlement Act, 2024.
Officials revealed that several accounts listed customer ages between 100 and 150 years while handling excessive transactions. Regulators warned that leaving these active breaches Know Your Customer rules set by the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit, making bKash liable for regulatory fines.
bKash defended its procedures, stating customer identities are verified against National ID databases and blaming registry errors for the anomalous ages. The company said enhanced due diligence measures are in place, though central bank officials confirmed routine penalties apply for directive violations.
Source: The Daily Star Photo: rawpixel (CC0)
