Postal officials have misappropriated Tk 55 crore from both people and departmental resources, said Zunaid Ahmed Palak, state minister for Posts, Telecommunications, and Information Technology today.

"We have found out that Tk 55 crore was misappropriated by postal officials nationwide, and I have already written to the ACC chairman, urging him to action," he said.

A majority of these fraudulent activities involve postal officials embezzling people's deposits without issuing official documentation for the purchase of government savings certificates.

The state minister made these remarks while speaking to reporters following a workshop jointly organised by the a2i (Aspire to Innovate) Information and Communication Technology Division, and the International Telecommunication Union at the Amari Dhaka hotel.

The minister said they recently became aware of the financial irregularities at post offices when Parul Begum, a resident of Tanore in Rajshahi, attempted suicide after failing to recover Tk 2 lakh from the local postmaster.

The postal official did not provide her with any official documents even though she bought savings certificates, he said.