Evaly CEO Rassel, wife Shamima sentenced to 3 years in prison for fraud
Evaly resorted to deception and embezzled the money through a criminal breach of trust by making various false promises to the plaintiff
A Dhaka court has sentenced notorious e-commerce platform Evaly's Managing Director (MD) Mohammad Rassel and his wife, the company's Chairman Shamima Nasrin, to three years in prison in a case filed over criminal breach of trust and fraud, and amassing illegal wealth.
The verdict was delivered today (18 September) afternoon by Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Md Monirul Islam, confirmed the plaintiff's lawyer HM Ruhul Amin Molla.
Along with the prison term, each has been fined Tk10,000. In case of non-payment, they will have to serve an additional three months in jail without hard labour.
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The judge announced the verdict after hearing the testimonies of three witnesses during the trial. The accused were absconding at the time the verdict was announced.
Meanwhile, Ruhul Amin Molla stated, "The accused have broken the trust of ordinary people through fraud, which is considered a serious criminal offence. This verdict will bring a sense of justice, however small, to the victims.
"However, this verdict is not enough," he added.
A victim named Md Abul Kalam Azad filed the case on 7 December 2023, on charges of criminal breach of trust and fraud. On the same day, the court ordered the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to investigate the matter and submit a report.
The case alleges that the accused, in collusion, created the e-commerce company Evaly with the intention to defraud customers. They attracted customers with well-planned and dazzling advertisements.
Seeing these ads on the company's Facebook page, the plaintiff paid Tk23 lakh to purchase 11 motorcycles. Although Evaly was supposed to deliver the products within a week to 30 days, they did not do so.
Instead, the case files state, Evaly resorted to deception and embezzled the money through a criminal breach of trust by making various false promises to the plaintiff.
