Evaly’s Rassel, Shamima jailed for 1 year over cheque dishonour

The e-commerce platform gave the plaintiff a cheque after failing to deliver the product, but the cheque bounced back

E-commerce platform Evaly’s founder Mohammad Rassel and his wife Shamima Nasrin, the company’s chairman, have been sentenced to one year in jail in a case over cheque dishonour.

Chattogram’s Seventh Joint and Sessions Judge Md Mohiuddin announced the verdict on Sunday in a case started by a customer three years ago.

None of the convicts were present in the court during the delivery of the verdict, which also slapped Tk 180,000 fines on them, said Shahriar Yasir Arafat, the lawyer for the plaintiff.

According to the case dossier, plaintiff Jasim Uddin Abid paid Evaly Tk 110,000 in advance for a motorcycle in April 2021.

The company gave him a cheque after failing to deliver the product.

But the cheque bounced back and Jasim filed the case against Evaly Managing Director Rassel and Shamima.

The couple were acquitted last month in a similar case in Dhaka after a settlement with the plaintiff.

Launched in 2018, Evaly gained prominence with its lucrative offers on home appliances, TV, refrigerators, air-conditioners, washing machines, motorcycles, and other products.

Many customers capitalised on Evaly's generous discounts of up to 50 percent by reselling the products. They invested in reselling products purchased from Evaly by borrowing hundreds of thousands of taka or selling land and gold ornaments.

However, the company came under the spotlight when thousands of customers complained about not receiving their orders or refunds after making payments in advance.

Evaly's liabilities to customers and suppliers eventually amounted to Tk 5.43 billion. Amid the controversy, disgruntled customers launched protests against Evaly and several other e-commerce companies in 2021, accusing them of fraud and embezzlement.

Facing dozens of cases, Rassel and Shamima had been arrested in September 2021.

The company came back to operation recently after Shamima was released in April 2022 and Rassel in December 2023. It is now selling products at cash on delivery only.

Rassel spoke to reporters after a review meeting on resolving complaints against e-commerce establishments and clearing stuck payments in payment gateways at the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection in Karwan Bazar in Dhaka on May 19.

“Customers have already started shopping on Evaly. I hope that none of Evaly’s customers will face any loss. We have already returned Tk 5 million from our profits to those who had money due with us. It will just take a little more time to refund everyone else.

“We will become stronger than before and return everyone’s money. You will see a major change within six months. And it will take us two years to return everyone’s money.”