Govt to shut six e-commerce websites over MLM operations
The E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh says it has found evidence these companies have been running illegal MLM businesses
The commerce ministry has decided to temporarily close websites and Facebook pages of six e-commerce companies for operating illegal online multi-level marketing (MLM) businesses.
These ecommerce companies are Tholay, Glitters RST World, Annex Worldwide Ltd, Excellent World Agro Food and Cosmetics Ltd, Alif World, and Green Bangla E-Commerce Ltd.
The decision was made at a meeting under the chairmanship of Md Hafizur Rahman, additional commerce secretary and director general of the WTO Cell at the commerce ministry. General Secretary of E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (E-Cab), Abdul Waheed Tamal, was present at the meeting.
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Hafizur Rahman told The Business Standard, "There have been allegations and evidence that these companies have been running MLM businesses online, which is against the Digital Commerce Guidelines. That is why the authorities have decided to temporarily shut down the websites and Facebook pages of these companies."
"We will send the IDs of the websites and Facebook pages of these six companies to the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) and request it to close them down," he said.
Commerce ministry officials said swindling money from customers using MLM businesses started in Bangladesh at the end of the last century. When Destiny started business in 2000, the MLM business spread across the country.
Earlier, Jubok allegedly embezzled a large amount of money with its MLM business.
After allegations of misappropriation and money laundering arose against Destiny in 2012, the government enacted MLM business regulations for the first time the following year.
As per regulations, now no company can operate an MLM business without obtaining registration from the commerce ministry.
Fraud by MLM businesses made news again last year when allegations of misappropriating the money of customers surfaced against popular e-commerce companies Evaly and E-orange.
Evaly's Managing Director Mohammad Russel and E-orange owner Sonia Mehjabin are currently in jail.
Commerce ministry officials said when various MLM companies, including Destiny 2000, applied for registration after the formulation of policy in this regard, the ministry gave licenses to four of them.
These licenses had to be renewed every year, but after 2015, none of the four companies renewed their licenses. Currently there are no legal MLM companies in Bangladesh, said commerce ministry sources.
According to the law, a person can be sentenced to a maximum of 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of Tk50 lakh for operating an MLM business illegally.
