Recently, several screenshots of accounts on Binance, an international cryptocurrency trading platform, linked to multiple advisors of the interim government, the press secretary, and leaders of the July-August movement have been circulating on social media. Based on these viral screenshots, it is being claimed that the accounts belonging to these individuals hold a substantial amount of Bitcoin, with a market value amounting to hundreds of crores of Bangladeshi taka.
According to the screenshots, an account under the name of Shafiqul Alam, the press secretary to the chief advisor, holds 93.06 Bitcoin, with a market value of approximately 10 million USD (1 billion BDT). Similarly, an account under the name of recently resigned advisor Nahid Islam is claimed to contain 204.64 Bitcoin, valued at 19 million USD (2.2 billion BDT). The account under the name of advisor Asif Mahmud Sajib Bhuiyan reportedly holds 113 Bitcoin, equivalent to around 12 million USD (1.3 billion BDT).
Additionally, the list includes an account under the name of Sarjis Alam, which is claimed to contain 77.69 Bitcoin, with an estimated market value of 7.76 million USD (900 million BDT). Meanwhile, an account under the name of Khan Talat Mahmud Rafi is also mentioned, reportedly holding 11.09 Bitcoin, with an estimated value of 1.1 million USD (130 million BDT).
This claim has gone massively viral on social media. Former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s son, Sajeeb Wazed Joy, has made a post regarding this claim. Additionally, several Indian media outlets have also published reports based on this claim.
See the reports published in Indian media on this claim: Aaj Tak Bangla, Republic Bangla, Kolkata TV.
See some of the posts circulated on Facebook regarding this claim: here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), here (archive), here (archive).
See post circulated on X (formerly Twitter): here (archive).
See video circulated on YouTube: here (archive).
Fact-Check
The Rumor Scanner team’s investigation has revealed that the Binance account screenshots circulating under the names of the interim government’s advisors, press secretary, and leaders of the July-August movement are fake. These screenshots have been manipulated using digital editing techniques and are being spread based on an unreliable source.
The source of this viral claim has been traced to a so-called online portal named The AsiaPost News. On February 25, the portal published a report titled “Bangladesh Interim Government Officials Accused of Corruption: Bribes and Illicit Funds Stashed in Bitcoin.”, where this claim was made.
An investigative review of the portal reveals that it first began publishing reports on November 20, 2024. Despite incorporating “Asia” in its name, The AsiaPost News has exclusively focused on Bangladesh and has not covered any news related to other Asian countries. Furthermore, its social media footprint is negligible, with only 33 followers on Facebook and 8 followers on X (formerly Twitter).
Domain analysis reveals that The AsiaPost News was registered on October 25, 2024, after the July-August movement in Bangladesh.
After establishing that The AsiaPost News is an unreliable source, Rumor Scanner further investigated the Binance account screenshots that were circulated alongside the report. The analysis indicates that these screenshots were captured while being logged into the respective accounts. Notably, the screenshots display “Deposit” and “Log Out” options, which are only visible when a user is actively logged into their account.
Furthermore, according to Binance’s security protocols, an account’s balance cannot be viewed using only a user ID. To access balance details, a user must log into the account and navigate to the “Wallet” section, where the “Overview” tab displays account holdings. This further reinforces the likelihood that the screenshots were manipulated rather than sourced through legitimate means.
A technology analyst, who requested anonymity, told Rumor Scanner that the Binance screenshots circulating on social media are entirely fabricated. He stated,
“Anyone with basic knowledge of Binance, cryptocurrency, or technology can immediately recognize that these screenshots are fake. It is impossible to determine an account’s balance using only a user ID.”
Explaining the method used to create these screenshots, he noted:
“These images were generated using a browser’s ‘Inspect Tool.’ This tool allows users to temporarily modify a website’s code, altering its visual content. As a result, it becomes possible to manipulate any webpage to display false information that appears credible in a screenshot but does not reflect actual data.”
To demonstrate the manipulation technique, the analyst created a sample screenshot for Rumor Scanner’s team. He replicated the viral screenshot allegedly showing an account under the name of Shafiqul Alam, the chief advisor’s press secretary. However, instead of altering any financial data, he simply replaced the name with Sajeeb Wazed’s, illustrating how easily such forgeries can be crafted.
Additionally, following the publication of Sajeeb Wazed’s post on Facebook, the Rumor Scanner team closely monitored its developments. Almost immediately after the post was made, a significant number of Facebook users questioned the authenticity of the screenshots in the comment section, labeling them as fake. Several technology analysts also raised doubts about the credibility of the images. As a result of this widespread skepticism, Sajeeb Wazed deleted the post within just an hour of its publication.
Conclusion
The claim regarding Binance account screenshots allegedly linked to the interim government’s advisors, press secretary, and leaders of the July-August movement is completely false and baseless.
Sources
- Rumor Scanner’s analysis.
- Statement from Tech Expert.
- Binance: How to Check My Binance Wallet Balances and Transfer Funds on Wallet Overview
