Dhaka, Apr 21 (bdnews24.com) – A platform of members of a multilevel marketing company, Unipay2U Bangladesh, have demanded that the government form a commission like in case of another MLM company, Jubok, to compensate those who lost money by investing in the firm.
The Unipay Members Club organised a media conference at Bangladesh Crime Reporters Association office on Saturday.
"Unipay2U Bangladesh Limited board of directors has embezzled an estimated Tk 6,000 crore people's money through deception, in the name of building a digital Bangladesh," general secretary of the club Asad-uz-Zaman said at the conference.
After failing to get response from any government office, they formed the club on Mar 21 on permission from the Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms, Asad said.
The club had over 600,000 members, he claimed.
While reading out a written speech, Asad demanded formation of a commission to compensate them like another formed to compensate Jubok members.
Though the High Court had on Feb 6 last year upheld a lower court order asking for the closure of 110 bank accounts of Unipay2U, the website of the firm on Saturday said it had resumed operations as a product-based MLM form from Jan 1 this year.
In January last year, the Anti-Corruption Commission had launched an investigation into money-laundering charges against Unipay2U chairman Shadizzaman Shahin and managing director Muntasir Hossain. The same month, the High Court had also issued a rule upon the government asking why it should not be directed to arrange to pay back the money of 22 members of the firm.
Between Nov 2009 and Sep 2010, according to the ACC case, Unipay2U managed to pool Tk 261,203,207 fund from the people through their deposits in the New Market branch of City Bank, Narayanganj branch of NCC Bank and Elephant Road branch of BRAC Bank.
Jubo Karmasangsthan Society, better known as Jubok, was found indulging in illegal banking by a central bank investigation in 2006. It was asked to repay Tk 1 billion it owed to its depositors by Mar 2006.
But the clients of Jubok are to be repaid even now, six years since the MLM company was shut.
After the current Awami League-led government assumed office, a commission headed by former central bank governor Mohammed Farashuddin was formed to make proposals on Jubok and how to repay its clients.
The commission recommended selling off Jubok's assets to pay back the investors and also suggested forming a permanent commission to keep a tab on such incidents. But the Jubok victims are still awaiting an end to their misery.
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