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High reported severity Criminal Charges

Khulna: a businessman paid Tk3.5 crore for old jute-mill machinery after WhatsApp calls in a voice presented as National Parliament Whip Raqibul Islam Bakul's, which the complaint and Khulna DB police describe as cloned with AI; four to five people arrested, the prime accused confessed

Khulna Gazette, the Daily Times of Bangladesh, Newsbangla24 and BD Today (all 29 September 2026) report from the first information report and Khulna Metropolitan Police Detective Branch (DB) statements that a businessman in Khulna city was joined on 29 July 2026 to a WhatsApp group call with a person introduced as National Parliament Whip Raqibul Islam Bakul, who discussed the sale of old machinery from Platinum Jute Mill and asked for advance payment. The businessman handed over Tk2 crore in cash that afternoon to men sent as representatives and a further Tk1.5 crore after inspecting the mill (30 July per Khulna Gazette and BD Today; 2 August per the Daily Times of Bangladesh and Newsbangla24), a total of Tk3.5 crore. When the businessman met the Whip in person in Khulna on 1 September, the Whip disclaimed any knowledge of it. The complaint filed on 18 September under the Cyber Security Act says the caller's voice had been changed with digital technology and artificial intelligence to pass as the Whip's; the DB deputy commissioner described the case to Asia Post as fraud by imitating the Whip's voice through AI. A press release from the Khulna city BNP media cell, sent on 4 September and published by Jaijaidin on 5 September, had already said a ring was using a US number and AI to clone the Whip's voice and demand money. Police arrested four people, recovered Tk12 lakh, and the prime accused gave a confessional statement before a magistrate on 28 September; on 29 September a court added two more detained men to the case. The voice-cloning tool is not identified and no forensic finding has been reported.

AI system
Unidentified voice-cloning tool
Occurred
29 Jul 2026 to 1 Sept 2026
Reported
29 September 2026
Event location
Bangladesh
What the AI did
Communicated with the person · Depicted or impersonated the person
Reported harm
Financial Loss
Whose AI use
Someone else’s AI use
Setting
Finance · Work
Evidence
AI involvement reported · Causal attribution alleged · 7 sources, 2 underlying accounts
5 claims: 5 reported. 5 open questions
People reported harmed
1 person

AI system as recorded: Voice presented on WhatsApp calls as that of National Parliament Whip Raqibul Islam Bakul, which the complaint and Khulna DB police describe as copied or altered with artificial intelligence; the tool is not identified

What Happened

According to the first information report as reproduced by Khulna Gazette (29 September 2026), a former local student-wing leader told the businessman's elder brother, who lives in the United States, that Whip Raqibul Islam Bakul wanted to speak with the brother, and supplied a US (+1) number as the Whip's; the person answering on WhatsApp claimed to be the Whip. At 2:38 am on 29 July 2026 the brother joined the businessman to a WhatsApp group call in which the purchase of old machinery from Platinum Jute Mill was discussed; the person speaking as the Whip asked for the advance payment to be cleared in the morning and said a representative would call. Between 3:15 pm and 4:30 pm that day two men arrived at the businessman's office in Khulna and were handed Tk2 crore in cash. Further calls followed about buying a hardboard mill; a lawyer messaged that the Whip had asked the lawyer to take the businessman to the jute mill, and after inspecting the machinery the businessman paid a further Tk1.5 crore to the same men (30 July per Khulna Gazette and BD Today; 2 August per the Daily Times of Bangladesh and Newsbangla24). The caller then kept promising to meet. When the Whip visited Khulna for the BNP founding anniversary on 1 September, the businessman met the Whip in person and was told the Whip knew nothing of the matter. The Daily Times of Bangladesh reports that the complainant, after collecting information and reviewing the numbers used, concluded that the voice had been changed with digital technology and artificial intelligence to pass as the Whip's; the KMP DB deputy commissioner, confirming the arrests to Asia Post (relayed by BD Today), described the case as one of fraud by imitating the Whip's voice through AI technology. On 5 September, before the complaint was filed, Jaijaidin published a press release from the Khulna Metropolitan BNP media cell that a ring was using a US (+1) number and AI to clone the Whip's voice and demand money from individuals and organisations, and that the Whip had no connection with the number. The complaint names two men and four to five (Khulna Gazette) or five to six (Daily Times of Bangladesh, Newsbangla24) unidentified persons; the prime accused gave a confessional statement on 28 September. Whether the voice was synthesised by software or imitated by a person has not been established in the inspected reporting; the confession's contents are not reported.

Reported harm

A businessman in Khulna paid Tk3.5 crore in cash for jute-mill machinery after WhatsApp calls in a voice presented as the Whip's, which the complaint and DB police describe as cloned with AI (Khulna Gazette, Daily Times of Bangladesh, BD Today); Tk12 lakh has been recovered.

Outcome

Ongoing

Case filed on 18 September 2026 under the Cyber Security Act at Khulna Sadar police station and transferred to the Khulna Metropolitan Police Detective Branch. Four people arrested by 29 September (one woman arrested in the Boyra Rayermahal area on 27 September with Tk12 lakh recovered); the prime accused gave a confessional statement under section 164 before Khulna Metropolitan Magistrate Court-1 on 28 September. On 29 September the same court allowed two men detained on 18 September to be added to the case and granted a two-day remand of another accused; Khulna Gazette counts five arrests in total. The DB deputy commissioner said details would follow at a press briefing after the investigation.

What remains unknown

  • Which tool or service produced the voice, and whether the voice was synthesised by software or imitated by a person; no forensic finding or confession content is reported.
  • The date of the second payment (30 July per Khulna Gazette and BD Today; 2 August per the Daily Times of Bangladesh and Newsbangla24).
  • Whether the elder brother, who relayed the calls from the United States, was also deceived or lost money.
  • Whether the person who supplied the number and the lawyer who arranged the mill visit are accused.
  • How much of the Tk3.5 crore beyond the Tk12 lakh recovered will be returned, and the outcome of the case.

What the evidence supports

AI involvement: reported. The complaint (as reproduced by the Daily Times of Bangladesh) says the complainant concluded that the caller's voice had been changed with digital technology and artificial intelligence to pass as the Whip's; the KMP Detective Branch deputy commissioner, confirming the arrests to Asia Post (relayed by BD Today), described the case as fraud by imitating the Whip's voice through AI technology; a press release from the Khulna Metropolitan BNP media cell, published by Jaijaidin on 5 September, said a ring was using AI to clone the Whip's voice from a US number. No forensic finding, tool name or confession content is reported, so whether the voice was synthesised or imitated by a person is not established.

5 claims: 5 reported. What the statuses mean

Reported On 29 July 2026 a businessman in Khulna city was joined to a WhatsApp group call in which a person introduced as Whip Raqibul Islam Bakul discussed the sale of old machinery from Platinum Jute Mill and asked for advance payment; that afternoon the businessman handed Tk2 crore in cash to two men sent as representatives, and later paid a further Tk1.5 crore after inspecting the mill (30 July per Khulna Gazette and BD Today; 2 August per the Daily Times of Bangladesh and Newsbangla24), a total of Tk3.5 crore.

Causal attribution. Complainant's account in the FIR as reproduced by the outlets; the two payments are described in every account, the date of the second differs: 30 July per Khulna Gazette and BD Today; 2 August per the Daily Times of Bangladesh and Newsbangla24.

  • khulnagazette.com(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'উক্ত গ্রুপ কলে প্লাটিনাম জুট মিলের পুরাতন যন্ত্রাংশ ক্রয়-বিক্রয় সংক্রান্ত বিষয়ে আলোচনা হয়।'; 'আলোচনার এক পর্যায়ে হুইপ বকুল বলে পরিচয়দানকারী ব্যক্তি মালামাল ক্রয়ের পূর্বে অগ্রিম পেমেন্ট ক্লিয়ার করতে বলেন।'; 'সেখানে প্লাটিনাম জুট মিলের পুরাতন যন্ত্রাংশ ক্রয়ের পেমেন্ট বাবদ'; 'দেড় কোটি টাকা ওইদিন দুপুরে প্রদান করেন ব্যবসায়ী।'
  • bangla.tob.news(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'গত ২৯ জুলাই রাত ২টা ৩৮ মিনিটের দিকে ওই গ্রুপ কলে প্লাটিনাম জুট মিলের পুরোনো যন্ত্রাংশ কেনাবেচা নিয়ে আলোচনা হয়।'; 'গত ২ আগস্ট বিকাল সাড়ে ৩টার দিকে'; 'আরও ১ কোটি ৫০ লাখ টাকা দেন। এভাবে মোট ৩ কোটি ৫০ লাখ টাকা দেওয়ার পরও'
  • tob.news(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'during the group call at 2:38am on 29 July, discussions were held regarding the purchase and sale of old machinery from Platinum Jute Mill'; 'the businessman handed over Tk2 crore in cash to'; 'as payment for the purchase of old machinery.'
  • newsbangla24.com(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'পরবর্তীতে গত ২ আগষ্ট আরও ১ কোটি ৫০ লাখ টাকা'
  • bdtoday.net(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'পরদিন ৩০ জুলাই ভোরে'; 'ওই দিন দুপুরে সেখানে গিয়ে যন্ত্রাংশ পছন্দ হলে'; 'আরও দেড় কোটি টাকা দেন ব্যবসায়ী।'
Reported On 1 September 2026 the businessman met the Whip in person during the Whip's visit to Khulna and was told the Whip knew nothing of the matter; the businessman then understood the payments had been a fraud and filed a case on 18 September under the Cyber Security Act at Khulna Sadar police station, which was transferred to the Detective Branch.

Causal attribution. FIR account as reported; the Whip's denial is reported through the complainant.

  • khulnagazette.com(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'তাকে বিষয়টি জানানো হলে তিনি বলেন, এ সম্পর্কে তিনি কিছুই অবগত নয়। পরবর্তীতে তিনি বুঝতে পারেন প্রতারণার শিকার হয়েছেন।'; 'এ ঘটনায় তিনি ১৮ সেপ্টেম্বর বাদী হয়ে খুলনা থানায় সাইবার সুরক্ষা আইনে মামলা দায়ের করে। থানায় মামলার পর মহানগর গোয়েন্দা শাখায় হস্তান্তর করা হয়।'
  • bdtoday.net(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'পুরো ঘটনা জানালে হুইপ তাকে জানান, এ বিষয়ে তিনি কিছুই জানেন না। এরপরই ব্যবসায়ী প্রতারণার বিষয়টি বুঝতে পারেন।'
  • tob.news(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'filed the case under the Cyber Security Act with Khulna Sadar Police Station on 18 September. The case was later transferred to the DB.'
Reported The complaint says the caller's voice had been changed with digital technology and artificial intelligence to pass as the Whip's, and the Khulna Metropolitan Police Detective Branch deputy commissioner described the case to Asia Post as fraud by imitating the Whip's voice through AI technology.

Causal attribution. The AI attribution comes from the complainant's conclusion recorded in the FIR and from the police description of the case; no forensic analysis or tool is reported.

  • bangla.tob.news(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'ডিজিটাল প্রযুক্তি ও কৃত্রিম বুদ্ধিমত্তার (এআই) মাধ্যমে কণ্ঠস্বর পরিবর্তন করে বকুলের পরিচয়ে তার সঙ্গে যোগাযোগ করা হয়েছে।'
  • bdtoday.net(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'হুইপ বকুলের কণ্ঠস্বর এআই প্রযুক্তির মাধ্যমে নকল করে প্রতারণার ঘটনায় করা মামলায় এ পর্যন্ত চারজনকে গ্রেপ্তার করা হয়েছে।'
  • khulnagazette.com(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'সংঘবদ্ধ প্রতারক চক্র এআই প্রযুক্তি ব্যবহার করে জাতীয় সংসদের হুইপের কন্ঠস্বর নকল করে ওই ব্যবসায়ীর নিকট থেকে সাড়ে তিন কোটি টাকা হাতিয়ে নেয়।'
Reported Police arrested four people, recovered Tk12 lakh, and the prime accused gave a confessional statement under section 164 before Khulna Metropolitan Magistrate Court-1 on 28 September 2026; on 29 September the court allowed two men detained on 18 September to be added to the case and remanded another accused for two days, bringing the arrests to five in Khulna Gazette's count.

Causal attribution. Police statements and the court report as published; the confession's contents are not reported.

  • khulnagazette.com(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'এ ঘটনায় পুলিশ এ পর্যন্ত চারজনকে আটক করেছে।'; 'আদালতে ১৬৪ ধারায় স্বীকারোক্তিমূলক জবানবন্দি দিয়েছে।'; 'পুলিশ এ পর্যন্ত ১২ লাখ টাকা উদ্ধার করেছে।'
  • khulnagazette.com(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'প্রতারণার এ মামলায় এ পর্যন্ত ৫ জন গ্রেপ্তার হয়েছেন।'; 'গত ১৮ সেপ্টেম্বর রাতে তাদের ৫৪ ধারায় গ্রেপ্তার করে পুলিশ।'; 'একই আদালত ২ দিনের রিমান্ড মঞ্জুর করেন।'
  • tob.news(opens in new tab) supports · English
    'Police said the prime accused,'; 'has given a confessional statement under Section 164 before a local court.'; 'Law enforcers also recovered Tk12 lakh from those detained.'
  • bangla.tob.news(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'খুলনা মেট্রোপলিটন ম্যাজিস্ট্রেট-১'; 'আদালতে হাজির করা হলে তিনি ১৬৪ ধারায় স্বীকারোক্তিমূলক জবানবন্দি দেন।'
Reported A press release from the Khulna Metropolitan BNP media cell, sent on 4 September and published by Jaijaidin on 5 September 2026, said a ring was using a US (+1) number and AI technology to clone Whip Raqibul Islam Bakul's voice and to demand money from individuals and organisations, and that the Whip had no connection with that number.

Causal attribution. A party press release (Khulna Metropolitan BNP media cell, 4 September) reported by Jaijaidin; it does not mention this businessman, but the US number it names matches the number the FIR as reproduced by Khulna Gazette says was supplied as the Whip's. It is the impersonated politician's side, not an independent technical finding, and is cited as context.

  • jaijaidin.news(opens in new tab) supports · Bangla
    'এআই প্রযুক্তির সহায়তায় হুইপ রকিবুল ইসলাম বকুলের কণ্ঠস্বর হুবহু নকল করছে। এরপর উক্ত নম্বর থেকে ফোন দিয়ে বিভিন্ন ব্যক্তি ও প্রতিষ্ঠানের কাছে অনৈতিকভাবে আর্থিক লেনদেনের দাবি জানানো হচ্ছে।'; 'ওই মার্কিন (+১) নম্বরটির সঙ্গে তাঁর কোনোপ্রকার সম্পৃক্ততা নেই।'
  • bdtoday.net(opens in new tab) context · Bangla
    'পরে একটি বিদেশি নম্বর হুইপের নম্বর হিসেবে দেওয়া হয়।'

Sources

7 sources inspected, from 2 underlying accounts. Sources that repeat one account do not corroborate each other.

How the sources were read, and where the events happened

Read live on 2026-09-30 in Bengali by the reviewing agent (machine-assisted reading, no human translator). Khulna Gazette staff report (নিজস্ব প্রতিবেদক, 29 September 2026) reproducing the FIR and quoting the DB investigating officer and deputy commissioner. Applies to s1.

Read live on 2026-09-30 in Bengali (machine-assisted reading). Khulna Gazette court report, 29 September 2026: two more accused added, remand, five arrests counted. Applies to s2.

Read live on 2026-09-30 in Bengali (machine-assisted reading). Daily Times of Bangladesh Bengali edition, 29 September 2026; reproduces the FIR and quotes the DB investigating officer and deputy commissioner; the reporter also spoke to the complainant at the DB office. Applies to s3.

Read live on 2026-09-30. English edition of the Daily Times of Bangladesh, 29 September 2026; a shortened English version of the same report (same outlet as s3). Applies to s4.

Read live on 2026-09-30 in Bengali (machine-assisted reading). Newsbangla24, 29 September 2026; reproduces the FIR text and quotes the DB officers. The saved page also carries unrelated stories below the article; only the article body was used. Applies to s5.

Read live on 2026-09-30 in Bengali (machine-assisted reading). BD Today, 29 September 2026, relaying Asia Post's report; carries the DB deputy commissioner's confirmation to Asia Post. Applies to s6.

Read live on 2026-09-30 in Bengali (machine-assisted reading). Jaijaidin, 5 September 2026: report of a press release sent on the night of 4 September by the convener of the Khulna Metropolitan BNP media cell, warning that the Whip's voice was being cloned with AI from a US number. Applies to s7.

Event countries: Bangladesh. Affected-person countries: Bangladesh. Court countries: Bangladesh.

The calls were received at the businessman's home in Khulna city and the cash was handed over at his office in Khulna (FIR as reported by Khulna Gazette and the Daily Times of Bangladesh); the case is before Khulna Metropolitan Magistrate Court-1. The elder brother who relayed the calls lives in the United States but is not reported harmed. The caller's location is unknown; the number was a US (+1) number.

Reviewed for publication 2026-10-01: Published as a core case (communicated_with and depicted_or_impersonated): a businessman lost Tk3.5 crore after calls in a voice presented as a sitting parliamentary Whip's, which the complaint and DB police describe as cloned with AI; four to five arrests and a confession are reported. Six reports from one FIR-and-police chain plus a separate earlier warning notice were read in Bengali and English. The complainant, accused and intermediaries are not named here; the Whip is a public figure whose voice was impersonated and is named.

People described

A businessman of Khulna city (the complainant, named in the sources but not here) who paid Tk3.5 crore in cash for old jute-mill machinery; the Whip, whose voice was impersonated, is a public figure and is named

People reported harmed in this case

1 person

0 AI participants · 1 other person harmed

One businessman is reported to have paid Tk3.5 crore; the elder brother who relayed the calls is not reported to have lost money. Exact count 1.

Counted once within this case. The same person may appear in other cases. This count does not establish AI causation.

Tags

#voice-cloning#impersonation#whatsapp#fraud#financial-loss#politician-impersonation#bangladesh#khulna#cyber-security-act

Cite this case

Compiled per our published methodology: verification statuses, sourcing standards, and corrections process.

APA

NOPE. (2026). Khulna: a businessman paid Tk3.5 crore for old jute-mill machinery after WhatsApp calls in a voice presented as National Parliament Whip Raqibul Islam Bakul's, which the complaint and Khulna DB police describe as cloned with AI; four to five people arrested, the prime accused confessed. AI incidents. https://nope.net/incidents/2026-khulna-ai-cloned-whip-voice-jute-mill-machinery-fraud-tk-3-5-crore

BibTeX

@misc{2026_khulna_ai_cloned_whip_voice_jute_mill_machinery_fraud_tk_3_5_crore,
  title = {Khulna: a businessman paid Tk3.5 crore for old jute-mill machinery after WhatsApp calls in a voice presented as National Parliament Whip Raqibul Islam Bakul's, which the complaint and Khulna DB police describe as cloned with AI; four to five people arrested, the prime accused confessed},
  author = {NOPE},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {AI incidents},
  url = {https://nope.net/incidents/2026-khulna-ai-cloned-whip-voice-jute-mill-machinery-fraud-tk-3-5-crore}
}

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In a 4 February 2025 report by Hi-Line Today, the owner of a game and coffee store in a Havre shopping mall said an employee received a call on a personal phone that appeared to come from the employee's own number and carried what the employee described as the owner's voice. The owner said the scammers had also duplicated the owner's number. The article says the store reported that the scam compromised bank details and caused monetary losses; the owner said the employee was not blamed. The reporter describes the scam as using AI voice replication. The only support for a cloned voice is the employee's claim, relayed by the owner.

Medium Unidentified voice-cloning tool

Picos, Piauí, Brazil: a digital influencer lost more than R$56,000 when fraudsters sent him audio messages in his uncle's AI-cloned voice 'confirming' a car he was buying in Fortaleza

On Monday 10 August 2026 a digital influencer from Picos, in the centre-south of Piauí, began negotiating a car advertised online for sale in Fortaleza (Ceará), where an uncle of his lives, and asked the sellers to take the car to the uncle so he could inspect it. On Tuesday 11 August a contact using a different number but the uncle's photo sent him audio messages in a voice identical to his uncle's, generated with artificial intelligence, saying the car was in good condition and telling him to make the bank transfer. Believing he was speaking to his uncle, he transferred the money; when he then called the uncle's real number he learned he had been defrauded. The loss exceeded R$56,000, money he says he had saved for years. He registered a police report on 11 August; the Piauí property-crimes unit (Depatri) is investigating and he is seeking a refund from the banks. The account is the victim's own, reported by G1 Piauí on 13 August 2026 from his social-media posts and an interview; the police unit did not respond to G1 before publication.

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