Evaly transected Tk 3898 crore in 36 company accounts

The authorities of the controversial e-commerce platform Evaly have withdrawn billions of taka in cash from the company accounts which is deemed abnormal.

The Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) said in a report that submitted to the High Court on Thursday.

The Evaly authorities have transferred money from one account to another without any rational reason, said the BFIU report.

It also disclosed that Evaly has repaid loans, taken under the name of the company's chairman and his other organisation, with the money paid by customers to buy products.

The Evaly authorities have sent their money to another institution in the name of fund transfer, and despite not having the necessity they completed the transactions by opening multiple accounts.

The company has carried out abnormal transactions in the branches of agent banking, according to the report.

A total of Tk 38.98 billion has been transacted so far in Evaly's 36 bank accounts. Of the amount, about Tk 19.56 billion has been deposited and about Tk 19.42 billion has been withdrawn from the accounts. The balance of the accounts is about Tk 21.3 million as of August 30, 2020.

Md Ikramul Hasan, a joint director of Bangladesh Financial Intelligent Unit, sent the report to the High Court bench of Justice M Enayetur Rahim and Justice Md Mostafizur Rahman complying with the court's earlier order.

Senior Advocate Shamim Khaled Ahmed submitted the report before the court on behalf of BFIU.

The BFIU has already found Evaly's 81 accounts in different banks and financial organisations and asked the concerned reporting organisations to freeze those accounts.

Following three separate writ petitions, the HC bench on September 28 wanted to know from the National Board of Revenue (NBR) whether it has any policy to collect vat and tax from the e-commerce entities in the country. 

It also wanted to know from Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) as to what steps they have taken over the alleged money laundering by the e-commerce platforms.

The court also wanted to know about the action plans and updated steps of the 16-member 'technical committee' that was formed to create a congenial environment for the scandal-hit digital commerce sector.

The respondents, NBR, Bangladesh Bank and the Commerce Ministry, were asked to comply with the court query by November 8 this year. Complying with the court queries the organisations have sent separate reports to the court.

The court, however, adjourned the hearing until February 28, 2022. 

Lawyers Mohammad Shishir Manir and Pallob Kabir M Humaun appeared in the court on behalf of the writ petitioners, while Shamim Khaled Ahmed appeared for the BFIU, Tapas Kanti Baul for the commerce ministry and deputy attorney general Bepul Bagmar for the state.

Mohammad Shishir Manir filed a petition on September 23 on behalf of 33 consumers of the e-commerce platform ‘e-orange.shop’.

Two other Supreme Court lawyers Md Anwarul Islam and Barrister Pallob Kabir M Humaun filed two other writ petitions as public interest litigations seeking some other directions over the e-commerce scams.

The High Court bench on September 28 held a joint hearing on the three writ petitions and asked the respondents to submit their statements over the court queries.