Another case against Evaly, its celebrity ambassadors

An Evaly customer has filed a case against nine individuals including three celebrities, who promoted the brand in different capacities, on charges of fraud and breach of trust.

The accused include a singer-actor and two actresses.

Evaly's defrauded customer Saad Sam Rahman filed the case on 4 December with the Dhanmondi police station in the capital. The matter was announced on Thursday night.

Police, on Friday afternoon, said the accused celebrities will be arrested in due course of investigation in the case.

"Some Bangladeshi celebrities were named in the case and they are under our surveillance. They can be arrested at any time," Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Ramna Division Deputy Commissioner (DC) Sajjadur Rahman told reporters in response to a query.

According to the case statement, Saad Sam Rahman claimed that he had ordered a motorcycle from Evaly for Tk3.18 lakh. But he had not got the product delivered and the money was not returned either.

Talking to The Business Standard, Saad said he didn't think he would get cheated as there were famous celebrities promoting the e-commerce platform.

"I feel they should also be brought to justice," Saad said.

Asked on the merit of the charges against brand ambassador celebrities under the purview of our law, Prabir Niyagi, senior lawyer of the Supreme Court said it is rather difficult to prove them complicit in fraudulent business practices of brands they advertised.

"However, customers who feel they were compelled by the brand ambassadors to make the decision to purchase can accuse the celebrities for breaching of trust," he told The Business Standard.

"But, the police and plaintiff must clearly prove that the celebrities in question are indeed guilty of breaching trust," he added.

Plaintiff Saad told TBS that he appeared before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate on 21 November and sought his complaints to be accepted as a case, and the court asked Dhanmondi Police Station to register the case.

Dhanmondi police registered the case under Penal Code's sections 406, 420 and 109.

On 16 September, Evaly CEO and Managing Director Mohammad Rassel and its chairman Shamina Nasrin were arrested by RAB over a fraudulence case from their residence in Dhaka's Mohammadpur. Currently they are in jail and also shown arrested in more than 20 cases across the country.

Earlier on 8 October Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested Humayun Kabir alias RJ Nirob, head of sales (communications and public relations) of controversial e-commerce platform Qcoom after an aggrieved customer sued him and five others, including Qcoom owner, for fraudulence.  

He was in jail since the arrest and on 7 December a High Court bench granted an interim bail to Humayun Kabir alias RJ, for six months in five separate cases.