High Court orders identification of money launderers in scam-hit e-commerce firms

The High Court has ordered the Anti-Corruption Commission to find out how much money has been laundered through some e-commerce firms that duped customers, and identify those involved with the crime.

It also ordered the secretaries to commerce, finance, information and home affairs, the Bangladesh Bank governor, the ACC chairman and the head of the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit to find out whose negligence led to the scams related to Evaly, Eorange, Dhamaka, Alesha Mart, QCoom, Aladiner Prodip, Dalal Plus and other e-commerce platforms within four weeks.

The panel of Justice Md Mozibur Rahman Miah and Justice Ahmed Sohel passed the orders and a set of rules after hearing three writ petitions on Monday.

In the rules, the court asked why the authorities shall not be ordered to find out the agencies and people whose negligence caused serious losses for the customers.

It asked why the authorities shall not be ordered to assess the money laundered through the e-commerce firms, if any funds were laundered, and identify the perpetrators.

It also asked why the authorities’ failure and inaction to take preventive measures before the scams shall not be declared illegal and why the court should not order the formation of an independent regulatory body to monitor the e-commerce businesses.

Evaly and many other firms faced allegations of fraud following their failure to deliver products for which they took money in advance in mid-2021. Top officials of the e-commerce firms were arrested in cases started by the customers.

On Sept 20, Supreme Court lawyer Md Anwarul Islam filed a writ petition seeking an order to set up a regulatory body for the online shopping platforms. Two days later, another lawyer, Mohammad Humayun Kabir Pallab, filed a writ petition on behalf of two customers, seeking an order to form a committee, headed by a retired judge, to assess the losses suffered by the customers.

Shishir Monir, another lawyer of the Supreme Court, filed the third writ petition a day later on behalf of 33 customers, seeking an expert committee to make proposals to protect the customers’ interests.