3 Flight Expert officials sent to jail over embezzlement of crores of taka

A Dhaka court has denied bail to three senior officials of the online airline ticketing platform 'Flight Expert' and sent them to jail in a case involving the alleged embezzlement of Tk3.79 crore from customers.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Minhazur Rahman issued the order following a hearing on this afternoon (3 August). 

The three accused are Shakib Hossain (32), head of finance; Sayeed Ahmed (40), chief commercial officer; and AKM Sadat Hossain (32), chief operating officer.

Motijheel Police Station Sub-Inspector Saddam Hossain, the investigating officer, presented the accused in court with a plea to have them sent to jail. 

Defense lawyers filed for bail, but the court rejected the plea after the hearing.

The trio was arrested from different locations across the capital yesterday.

According to police, a case was filed at the Motijheel Police Station last night by a customer of the travel agency, Bikash Sarker, accusing five persons - the three arrestees, Flight Expert CEO Salman Bin Rashid Shah Sayeem, and his father MA Rashid.

Police are trying to arrest the other accused.

Yesterday a GD was filed by one of the arestee, Sayeed Ahmed, at the same police station stating that Flight Expert's CEO Salman Bin Rashid Shah Sayeem has allegedly fled the country

When staff arrived at the office on Saturday, Salman was reportedly nowhere to be found

The GD further alleged that significant financial transactions with both customers and suppliers are now in risk, and some staff members have received threats from affected clients.

The agency's website remains offline, and Salman has not responded to attempts to contact him.

Evaly, an e-commerce platform, which shut down following allegations of irregularity and fraud, acquired Flight Expert on 29 May 2021.