A young man named Md Faruk, 28, from Purbo Bara Veyola Union in Chakaria, Cox’s Bazar, has allegedly defrauded several Bangladeshi expatriates in Saudi Arabia of large sums of money and fled back to Bangladesh. Victims claim Faruk took millions of taka through false investment promises, including a petrol pump venture in Abha province. When they visited his home in Chakaria, they could not find him and were instead verbally abused by his sisters. Victims believe Faruk is hiding between his family homes in Cox’s Bazar and Dhaka.

One victim, expatriate worker Mohammad Abu Saleh from Lohagara, Chattogram, alleged that Faruk took 45,000 Saudi riyals—about 1.45 million taka—promising monthly profits that never materialized. Another victim, Shahajul Islam from Kushtia, said Faruk embezzled six lakh taka from a welfare lottery fund and also took 250,000 taka from a mobile banking agent. Saleh said he is preparing to take legal action.

The acting chairman of Purbo Bara Veyola Union Parishad confirmed knowing Faruk but said he could not verify whether the fraud allegations were true.