bdnews24.com :
A Dhaka court has barred Mohammad Rassel, the managing director of Evaly, and his wife Shamima Nasrin, also the chairman of the company, from travelling overseas amid an ongoing probe into charges of embezzlement against the e-commerce platform.
Dhaka’s Senior Special Judge KM Imrul Kayes issued the order in response to a petition by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on Thursday.
Previously, on Jul 8, the ACC said it had sought a travel ban on top Evaly officials as it investigated allegations the company had embezzled over Tk 3.38 billion in advance payments from customers and had not paid merchants.
“The ACC took action when it learned they could flee abroad,” said ACC Prosecutor Mahmud Hossain Jahangir after the court order.
“But at the time, the court with jurisdiction over the matter was closed. But a court of competent jurisdiction heard the matter and issued the travel ban on Thursday.”
After news of the graft watchdog’s travel ban was published, Evaly MD Rassel wrote on Facebook that he saw the matter ‘positively’. Evaly’s offices have been closed for
several days after the government and the ACC took action. Customers say no one is answering the company’s hotlines.
ACC Deputy Director Mamunur Rashid Chowdhury and Deputy Assistant Director Muhammad Shihab Salam were tasked with investigating Evaly.
The national anti-graft agency had previously looked into the company’s activities.
But a “specific” complaint from the Ministry of Commerce on Jul 4 led to the current investigation.
The commerce ministry attached to the written complaint a seven-page report by the Bangladesh Bank that found that Evaly’s net asset was worth around Tk 917 million and the firm’s liabilities were over Tk 4.07 billion on Mar 14.
