Evaly cheque fraud: Arrest warrants issued for Rassel, Shamima

A Dhaka court has issued arrest warrants for Mohammad Rassel, the former CEO of the e-commerce company Evaly, and chairman Shamima Nasrin in a case filed over cheque fraud.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Ali Haider passed the order on Monday.

The plaintiff's lawyer Sadikur Rahman Tomal confirmed the matter.

Earlier, they were summoned to appear before the court in this case. As the accused did not appear before the court, arrest warrants were issued against them.

According to the case statement, on March 13, 2021, the plaintiff of the case, Tanvir Hossain, paid Tk2.45 lakh through mobile banking to buy a motorcycle after seeing an advertisement on Evaly. However, the e-commerce site failed to deliver the vehicle within the stipulated 45 days.

Then on September 13, Evaly gave a cheque for the equivalent value of the product. 

The cheque was then deposited in multiple banks for encashment, and it was dishonoured. 

A legal notice was sent to them on October 22 last year, but Evaly did not take any steps.

Meanwhile, Evaly now plans to begin refunding the money stuck in the payment gateway in January, according to the chief executive of the company.

Evaly CEO Mohammad Rassel also promised to clear legacy debt on bank cheques from May while addressing an online press conference from his office in the capital’s Dhanmondi on Saturday. 

In response to a question, Rassel said that Evaly has received a “great response” from customers and merchants since the first day of resuming operations.