Bangladesh
Evaly Scam Evaly Chairman-MD placed on three-day remand
Dhaka, September 18: Mohammad Rassel, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of e-commerce company Evaly, and his wife Shamima Nasrin, chairman of the organisation, have been remanded in custody for three days.
They were produced in the court of Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Atiqul Islam on Friday (September 18th). Wahidul Islam, sub-inspector of Gulshan police station, then applied for a 10-day remand for a proper investigation into the case. On the other hand, the lawyer of the accused Moniruzzaman Liton applied for bail seeking cancellation of their remand. Following the hearing, the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate granted a three-day remand against the accused.
They were produced in the court at around 2 pm and kept in the court jail. The accused were taken to the court around 2.30 pm. Earlier, the Russell couple was brought to Gulshan police station in a white RAB private car from the RAB headquarters at 1pm. From there he was later taken to court.
RAB has arrested Shamima Nasrin, chairman of e-commerce company Evaly, and her husband Mohammad Rassel, managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. The two were arrested in a raid on their residence in the capital's Mohammadpur on Thursday (September 16) afternoon. After that they have been interrogated at the RAB headquarters.
A RAB official said the Chairman and MD of Evaly had been arrested from their home in a money laundering case.
On Wednesday (September 15) night, a case was filed against the duo at Gulshan police station for embezzlement. The lawsuit alleges that a plaintiff, Arif Baker, and his friends ordered some products in May and June of this year, after being attracted by the a lucrative advertisement given by the site.
One of the victims complained that he had ordered goods worth Tk 3,10,000, another Tk 9,00,000, and another Tk 7,98,000, but did not get them on time. According to the written complaint, the complainant Arif Baker and his friends ordered some products in May and June this year after being attracted by the flashy advertisement of e-commerce company Evaly. They paid for all products in full through bKash, Nagad and Citibank cards.
"The company had promised to refund the same amount if the goods failed to be delivered within seven to 45 working days. But as the products were not delivered within that time, the customer care representative of Evaly was contacted many times. The last time I contacted was on 5th September, I tried to get the ordered products but failed," the complaint said.
After failing to get the delivery, the plaintiff visited the Evaly's Dhanmondi office on September 9. The staff created a ruckus after he asked to be put in touch with the company's MD Rassel. At one point, an agitated Rassel too came out of his office and started to showcase scare tactics and even said no to refunding.
Evaly has been in discussion for a long time over allegations of irregularities. On August 25, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) demanded an account of all the bank accounts of the MD and chairman of Evaly. Later, at a meeting of the Secretariat on September 14, the committee of the Ministry of Commerce recommended to take action against the company through the law enforcement agencies.
According to the latest news, Shamima Nasrin, chairman of Evaly, and her husband, Mohammad Rassel, managing director (MD) of the organisation, have been arrested and are being interrogated at RAB headquarters. The two top officials of the company will be handed over to Gulshan police station on Friday (September 17), RAB said.
