Six officials of Foodpanda Bangladesh Limited, including its Managing Director Syeda Amberin Reza, have been sued in four separate cases on charges of fraud, forgery, breach of contract, and issuing threats.
The cases were filed on Thursday at the court of Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Sanaullah in Dhaka. Shihab Mahmud, proprietor of First Tele Sales Company, brought the charges against the accused.
The other defendants named in the cases include Zubair Siddiqui (Co-founder and Director), Md. Tabarez Khan (an Indian national and Director of Delivery, Hero Store), Dilara Faruq (Head of Category), Mohammad Sajedul Haque (Senior Manager and Director, Delivery Hero Store), and Mohammad Tawfiq (Executive, Category Management Director, Delivery Hero Store Bangladesh Ltd, Pandamart).
The complainant’s lawyer, Kazi Mofizul Islam, stated that the court has recorded the plaintiff’s statement but has yet to issue any order, pending further review of the documents submitted.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff had engaged in business with Pandamart, an affiliate of Foodpanda, under separate agreements. However, the defendants allegedly breached those agreements and engaged in fraudulent and deceptive practices, causing a financial loss of approximately Tk 5.6 crore (56 million) to the complainant.
The lawsuits seek legal action and compensation for the financial damage incurred through what has been described as deliberate and orchestrated deceit by officials of the food delivery company and its partner entity.
In response to the allegations made by Mr. Shihab Mahmud Bashir, proprietor of IPLE Distribution Network, foodpanda Bangladesh has stated that the claims appear to be retaliatory in nature, following legal proceedings initiated by the company over dishonoured payments. A spokesperson for foodpanda confirmed that appropriate legal actions have already been taken under the Negotiable Instruments Act, and that the company is currently reviewing further legal options to address what it described as defamatory and reputation-damaging actions.
