Fake JS letters expose forgery scam

The Parliament Secretariat on Monday warned the public and all institutions to verify the authenticity of any demi-official (DO) or official letter claimed to have been issued by the Jatiya Sangsad after detecting forged documents bearing the identity of the Deputy Speaker.

The warning follows the discovery of counterfeit documents allegedly used to obtain undue advantages from government offices by impersonating the Office of the Deputy Speaker.

In a statement, the Parliament Secretariat said fraudsters forged the Deputy Speaker’s signature, official letterhead, government logo and memo number to prepare fake DO letters and submit them to various ministries and government offices.

According to the statement, one such forged DO letter recently came to the Secretariat’s notice.
The Secretariat clarified that the document was not issued by the Jatiya Sangsad and has no connection with the national parliament.

It urged the public, government and private institutions, media organisations and all other stakeholders to verify the authenticity of any DO or official letter purportedly issued by the Jatiya Sangsad before acting on it.

The statement also warned that forging and using the name, logo, official letterhead or other government identifiers of the country’s legislature to create confusion constitutes a punishable offence under the law.

Following the detection of the forged document, the Parliament Secretariat said the relevant authorities have been instructed to take the necessary legal action against those involved in producing and using the counterfeit parliamentary correspondence.