Police have arrested three employees of the popular online ticket booking platform Flight Expert, following allegations that the company embezzled a large sum of money from customers and abruptly shut down operations.
However, the company’s Managing Director Salman Bin Rashid remains untraceable and is suspected to have fled abroad, according to the arrested staff members.
The company’s website suddenly went offline on Saturday, fueling rumors of Salman’s escape from the country.
In response, scores of aggrieved customers, travel agents, and ticket resellers who had paid in advance for bookings gathered at the Flight Expert office in Motijheel throughout the day.
Later that night, Bipul Sarkar, the owner of Sarkar Tours and Travels, filed a case with Motijheel Police Station, accusing the company of misappropriating Tk 4 crore.
Following the case, police detained three senior officials of the company: Head of Finance Sakib Hossain (32), Chief Commercial Officer Saeed Ahmed (40), and Chief Operating Officer AKM Sadat Hossain (32).
Motijheel Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mezbah Uddin confirmed that these three, along with MD Salman Bin Rashid and his father M A Rashid, have been named as accused in the case.
Earlier in the evening, Saeed Ahmed had filed a general diary (GD) at the police station, alleging that MD Salman had secretly left the country with his family. He also informed staff via WhatsApp about the company’s closure. The other two arrestees were accompanying him to file similar GDs when police detained all three.
Flight Expert is a concern of Makkah Group, which has long operated in Bangladesh’s travel industry under the name Makkah Tours and Travels, offering services like Hajj, Umrah, and ticketing packages.
Leveraging this background, the online platform was launched in March 2017, offering airline ticket booking, hotel reservations, tour packages, and visa processing.
Flight Expert gained popularity for offering competitive airfares, but the recent allegations and sudden shutdown have shaken customer confidence and left many seeking answers and refunds.
