Three high-ranking officials of Bangladesh Samabaya Bank Ltd, including its deputy general manager, yesterday confessed to magistrates that they had embezzled gold deposited by clients worth Tk 11.4 crore as per instructions of their chairman and several high-profile officials.

The three officials are, DGM Abdul Alim, Assistant General Manager (Accounts) Hedayet Kabir and ex-Principal Officer Md Mahbubul Haque.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrates Md Baki Billah, Metropolitan Magistrate Debbrata Biswas and Metropolitan Magistrate Satyabrata Sikder recorded the statement of Abdul Alim, Hedayet Kabir and Mahbubul Haque respectively.

Anti-Corruption Commission's Deputy Director Mohammad Ibrahim, also the investigation officer of the case, produced them at the magistrates' chambers on completion of their three-day remand in the case.

All three told the magistrates that they were instructed by the chairman of the bank for committing such offences. Chairman and other high officials took a lion's share of the money collected by selling gold and the three were given the rest of the money, said an official of the ACC.

Further details about the statements could not be known immediately.

After recording their confessional statements, all three accused were sent to Dhaka Central Jail in Keraniganj.

They were arrested from the capital's Shegunbagicha area around 1:30pm on February 16, according to the ACC.

Earlier that day, ACC Deputy Director Ibrahim filed the case against nine officials including the bank's Chairman Md Mohiuddin Ahmed alias Mohi with the Integrated District Office-1 of Dhaka.

According to the case statement, it was alleged that they have embezzled their clients' deposited gold worth Tk 11.4 crore.