Staff Reporter :
The High Court on Monday issued a show-cause notice upon the respondents to explain in two weeks as to why they should not be directed to freeze all the bank accounts of Evaly’s ex-Managing Director and CEO Mohammd Rassel and ex-Chairman Shamima Narsin’s mother, father, sister, brother, daughter and son.
It also wanted to know in the show-cause notice as to why the respondents should not be directed to freeze all the bank accounts of the owner of the building in wherein Evaly maintains its office.
The High Court Bench of Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar passed an order after hearing a petition filed by the court-appointed board of directors.
The court has also fixed February 10 as the date for the sale of six cars of Evaly Limited. A deputy registrar and an assistant registrar of the High Court division of the Supreme Court will oversee the auction process, said the court.
The court also directed the DMP Commissioner and RAB Director General to deploy police and RAB members during the auction.
On February 3 this year the current board of directors of the Evaly issued a notification for sale of seven vehicles, including the luxury Range Rover. The minimum price of the cars has been fixed Tk 23.7 million.
The court-appointed Board of Directors of the controversial e-commerce company Evaly Limited has also secured High Court’s permission to appoint renowned audit firm Hoda Vasi Chowdhury & Co to carry out an audit of the company.
Barrister Morshed Ahmed Khan appeared in the court on behalf of the Evaly board of directors, while Barrister Syed Mahsib Hossain appeared for the customers of the company.
Following a petition filed by a customer the same High Court Bench on September 22 in 2021 directed the concerned bodies to be restrained from selling, transferring or otherwise dispose of the assets of the Evaly Limited till disposal of the case filed with the High Court.
Later the court on October 18 in 2021 formed a 5-member body to oversee the overall management and the company affairs of the Evaly Limited.
The court appointed Justice Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik, a former judge of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, as the chairman of the company and Mahbub Kabir Milon, an additional secretary of the government, as the ex officio managing director.
But due to the embargo imposed by the High Court the court-appointed board of directors could not operate the accounts of the company and to sell or rent or otherwise dispose of the assets of the Evaly Limited. In this circumstance the board filed the petition to bring modification of the order that was passed on September 22 in 2021.
The court-appointed board of directors in their petition said, “The ex-managing director and CEO of the company Mohammd Rassel and ex-chairman Shamima Narsin have siphoned substantial amount of money from the bank accounts of the company to their personal bank accounts. However the court appointed board could not ascertain in the exact amount because there were many cash withdrawals.”
