ACC no longer investigating money laundering charges against Evaly

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has decided to withdraw from the probe into the allegations of embezzlement and money laundering against e-commerce platform Evaly.

ACC Chairman Moinuddin Abdullah made the revelation on Tuesday.

Asked about the progress of the investigation against Evaly, which faces charges of embezzling Tk 3 billion, Moinuddin said e-commerce firms do not fall within the anti-graft agency's remit and so it is not taking part in the probe.

"The issue of [irregularities in the] e-commerce sector or Evaly is not in the schedule of the ACC. When it came to money laundering, we opened an inquiry."

"Now, another agency will look into the matter of Evaly, including money laundering."

However, the ACC chairman did not explain how the money laundering allegations was outside its 'schedule'.

The responsibility of looking into Evaly does not fall on the commission as "it is a matter of fraud and conerns the interests of customers", he explained. "So the police and the CID will look into it.”

Since its inception in 2018, Evaly has racked up a debt of Tk 5.43 billion to its suppliers and customers.

Evaly’s system, which thrived on stupendous cashback offers, came under scrutiny after the Ministry of Commerce and Bangladesh Bank opened a probe into their workings and found a significant amount of embezzlement.

The firm came into the ACC's crosshairs after claims from the commerce ministry that Evaly misappropriated Tk 3.38 billion from customers and merchants, and began investigations on Jul 8.