Evaly’s interim board seeks patience from customers 

The interim board, formed by the High Court to assess Evaly's liabilities, has urged patience from customers who have paid in advance for goods that are yet to be delivered.

"We do not have 100% accurate information on the liabilities of Evaly. In these circumstances, we have no other way but to be patient about the undelivered goods or dues," Mahbub Kabir Milon, additional secretary and HC appointed managing director of Evaly, told The Business Standard.

The four-member board held its first meeting in Dhanmondi on Tuesday. Retired Justice and the board's Chairman Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik presided over the meeting.

Mahbub said the board has discussed reviewing the court directives at Tuesday's meeting and has decided to audit all liabilities and properties of Evaly. A reputed firm will be appointed for the task.  

He hopes the audit will provide a complete picture of the company's situation.

The interim board has also decided to gather all the investigation reports on Evaly submitted by the Bangladesh Bank or any other established organisations.

Earlier, a plea was filed by a disgruntled customer named Md Farhad Hossen seeking court directives for winding up Evaly. He demanded a refund from the liquidation of Evaly's property.

The court later passed a written order on the formation of the board.

Previously, in a separate order on 30 September, the court directed the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC) to submit all Evaly-related documents. In addition, the court imposed a ban on the selling or transfer of all properties of the company.

According to data released by Evaly, the company has a total of Tk121 crore worth of properties while it owes over Tk1000 crore to customers and merchants.

Evaly came under the scanners following massive allegations of defrauding customers and embezzlement in recent months.

The e-commerce platform would tempt customers to pay in advance with lucrative discount offers, but failed short on the promises of delivering goods on due time, customers alleged.

In some such cases, it would offer to refund unsatisfied customers, but that too fired back as cheques bounced due to a shortage of money in the platform's bank accounts.

Evaly CEO Mohammad Rassel and his wife Shamima Nasrin, who is also the chairman of the company, was arrested on 16 September over allegations of fraud and embezzlement.