Going beneath the surface: How TBS journos captured some of their best reports

Over the past year, The Business Standard has consistently produced high-voltage reports which have touched the nerve of our esteemed readers from within the country and across the globe. In celebration of TBS Online's fourth anniversary, we go behind the scenes to explore how our journalists shed light on some of these eye-opening revelations published in 2022-23.

Following are the exclusive back stories shared by TBS reporters.

A sea of scams

Hundreds of websites have popped up in recent years scamming people in the name of e-commerce, movie promotion, online betting or trading of cryptocurrencies, forex pairs, commodities, derivatives or stocks. Our reporter Mahfuz Ullah Babu was on the ground to cover the most notorious of these scams, revealing the extent of the situation.

"When I first began investigating the scam, I believed it to be a run-of-the-mill operation. However, as I delved deeper, I realised that it was much larger than what I had anticipated.

"That's when I decided to go undercover as a potential victim. I called the scammers to learn more about their operations. It took me weeks to fully flesh out the report," Mahfuz Ullah Babu said.

On the challenges he faced, Babu mentioned how there were no human interactions, spurring an adrenaline rush.

"All the messages were sent by chatbots. It was a totally robotic experience. Those chatbots used a variety of tricks to try to get money from me. They pretended to be human, and their convincing powers were so strong that anyone unaware of the possible threats could have easily fallen into their trap.

"After I published my report, the police caught three people who were involved in the scam," he said.

According to Babu, the nature of such reports require constant digging.

"This is because there is often more to a story than meets the eye, and it is important to collect all of the facts before reaching any conclusion. By doing so, we can help ensure that the readers are informed about crucial issues and justice can be served."

Read the story here:

https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/online-scammers-lay-out-easy-money-trap-...

The lure of slavery?

Over 1,000 Bangladeshis had gone to Cambodia over the last few years. Several were forced into slavery while their passports were seized by agents. Other than a lucky few, many are still trapped in Cambodia. TBS reporter Masum Billah picked up their trail before it ran cold, giving way to the butterfly effect.

"During my investigation, I came across many victims based in Cambodia and others who managed to come back. It was a challenging task to connect with the victims stuck in Cambodia. As for the traffickers, they didn't respond to my queries before the story was published. But once it was published, they threatened to kidnap me," Masum recalled.

Writing about victims in Cambodia while sitting in Bangladesh was also no easy task.

"It took several months of work. From sourcing and verifying allegations to writing them. It was an elaborate task," he said.

The hard work eventually paid off.

"This report was selected as one of the top investigative stories by the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) in 2022. This selection made me realise that I have started my venture well in the prestigious arena of investigative journalism. I learned the scope of work, of how meticulously an investigative story is carried out," Masum added.

Read the story here:

https://www.tbsnews.net/features/panorama/sold-cambodia-how-bangladeshis...

A fraudulent birth

MediGreen, a newly registered company, secured Tk900 crore in loan from Islami Bank in October, just a month after getting registered with the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies for setting up a trading business. The owner of the company could not be traced. In this case, there were more questions than answers. Reporter Jebun Nesa Alo went all out to find an explanation for them all. 

"My report investigated the allegations of corruption in loan approvals at Islami Bank, which was once one of the most respected banks in Bangladesh. We found that over the past one to two years, there had been a number of high-value loans approved without adequate collateral, including a loan of Tk900 crore to a 24-year-old man. The report concluded that there was a strong possibility that corruption was a factor in approving these loans," Alo said.

She highlighted how her investigation initially revealed nothing but documents.

"As we began with field investigations, we were able to dig up the addresses of those companies [involved in the fraud]. Apparently, there was no existence of any full-fledged companies, just apartments with addresses. However, one common element in all these companies was they applied for loans within one month of starting operations.

"The report went viral," she said.

Alo noted that the presence of only documents meant that is all she had to work with, while the field was the place where laid all the answers.

"They couldn't defend their actions. They couldn't even send a rejoinder. Eventually, we were successful in creating awareness," she said.

Read the story here:

https://www.tbsnews.net/economy/banking/how-24-year-old-greenhorn-blesse...

No bags, no blood

In February, as the dollar crisis wreaked havoc on the economy, it became more difficult than ever to open letters of credit (LCs). Aside from an increase in the day-to-day struggles caused by commodity price hikes, hospitalised patients were taken aback by an acute shortage of blood bags as traders were unable to import. The Business Standard's Tawsia Tanjim then began to explore a phenomenon which had gone under the radar by far.

"I stumbled upon a social media post lamenting the crisis of blood bags. I immediately felt compelled to investigate further, but at the time I had only one source, a social media post. No one else was talking about it," Tawsia said.

For Tawsia, time was the biggest challenge of this particular report.

"I sprang into action. There was no time to waste. I dialled all my sources, including the blood banks, hospitals, importers, and traders. I also called the DG office and all of the relevant stakeholders," she said.

"I managed to break the story first. As expected, it went viral. The subsequent media coverage was huge and it prompted the government to take steps against the crisis."

Tawsia said in the age of social media, more than ever before, gossip travels faster than truth.

"Following the basics of journalism, like research and fact-checking, has become even harder lately amid all the noise surrounding us. However, it remains more essential than ever before."

Read the story here:

https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/health/cry-blood-bags-due-lc-opening-...

Into the lion's den

Yemen's civil war, which started in 2014, has become a convoluted affair. From tribal leaders, coalition forces, Houthi rebels, and the Yemeni military to Al Qaeda and ISIS factions engaged in the bloody conflict – abductions have become dangerously multi-layered.

Bangladeshi Lieutenant Colonel (retd) AKM Sufiul Anam, the field security coordination officer (Head) of the UN Department of Safety and Security, fell victim to such an abduction in February 2022. 

"And it would not be until August 2022 that Anam would learn that his captors are members of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) — as per the script he was handed for the first video" released by the terrorist organisation, which the world watched in September last year.

After 18 long months, Anam was rescued in Yemen and moved to the UAE earlier this month. On 9 August, Anam landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka. Our reporter Nusmila Lohani met Anam at his residence on 15 August. 

"I was following the case since the time news of the abduction broke. When the video surfaced, we reached out to the family, the foreign ministry, the UN, etc to make sure we cover all bases and find out how the family was coping and what was being done for Anam's release," Nusmila Lohani said. The Business Standard did the first feature-length story on Anam in September 2022.

"This year, we were working on a follow-up story. It was during this time, "a new development" occurred, the family told me. And within hours, news broke that Anam has been rescued. The relief was monumental. Additionally, now we have a rescued Bangladeshi UN official who survived possibly one of the longest-held captivity, on the record, by AQAP." 

Anam's account offered a window into the grim and convoluted state of affairs in the war-ravaged Yemen, the security risk, the inner workings of captors and 'mediators' (middle-men who are at the frontline of negotiation with the captors), the emotional trauma and the unique survival instincts in an extraordinary situation. 

"The story that made it to print offers an opportunity for our basic understanding of AQAP captivity and how much it takes for the successful rescue of hostages. However, a lot of the details remain undisclosed for security reasons but we are glad that this story came to fruition," Nusmila concluded.

Read the story here

https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/we-lived-counting-days-inside-sufiul-...

The rise, the fall

Anik Telecom once reached every part of the country. If you had a phone, you must have come across the brand. But then, suddenly, the successful venture turned into a thing of the past.

What went wrong? Ariful Islam Mithu asked this very question and went about looking for the answers, while all he had was the name and nothing else.

"Anik Telecom used to be very famous once. I began looking for the owner and the search went on for almost a year. Finally, I got hold of his number," Mithu said.

"It was very hard at first but somehow, after getting his number, I secured an interview with him. Surprisingly, he didn't want to give the interview at first as he was not used to such things. I then had to  make extra effort convincing him."

Mithu said the key to the report was gritty persistence.

"You will be able to find a source or any sort of information if you just stick to the story," he said.

Read the story here:

https://www.tbsnews.net/features/panorama/rise-and-fall-anik-telecom-584810