Bangladesh

Another customer sues Rassel for embezzling money

Another case has been filed against the e-commerce platform Evaly's Chairman Shamima Nasrin and CEO Mohammad Rassel over allegation of embezzling customer's money.

Another customer sues Rassel for embezzling money

A customer, Rakib Dewan filed the case with the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Thursday.

According to the case statement, Rakib ordered two motorcycles from Evaly and made advance payments of Tk 1,33,978 on 16 January.

Evaly failed to make the delivery of the motorcycles that were schedule to be delivered within 45 days.

Later, Evaly provided a cheque of Tk 230,000 following the market price of the motorbikes to Rakib which was later rejected by the bank as the account was already closed. 

On 16 September, another consumer Arif Baker filed a case over money embezzlement against Rassel and Nasrin with Gulshan Police Station.

On 14 September, the commerce ministry decided to request the home ministry to take legal actions against Evaly for violations of laws and deceiving customers.

"Evaly violated many provisions of the Penal Code 1860, Digital Security Act and Consumer Rights Protection Act," said Hafizur Rahman, additional secretary of the commerce ministry, in a press briefing on the day.

Earlier, in two different submissions to the Commerce Ministry, Evaly informed that they owe Tk311 crore to customers and Tk206 crore to the merchants.

Evaly got the money in advance payments by luring people with heavy discounts on products on its site and promising delivery in 7-45 days. Buyers, however, are yet to receive the items they ordered.

And the refund cheques given to customers have bounced because of an insufficient fund in Evaly's bank account.

Meanwhile, the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) has written to several government organisations seeking related documents on Evaly.

Besides, a Dhaka court also imposed a travel ban on Mohammad Rassel and his wife Shamima Nasrin from travelling abroad amid an ongoing probe into charges of embezzlement against the e-commerce company.

What happened next

Updated September 2026. Rakib Dewan's case was one of dozens. Through late 2021 and 2022 customers and merchants filed cheque-dishonour and fraud cases against Rassel and Shamima Nasrin in Dhaka, Chattogram and other districts, most of them over motorcycles, phones and refrigerators sold far below market price on advance payment. The commerce ministry's request to the home ministry, mentioned above, was followed in October 2021 by a High Court order replacing Evaly's board with one led by former justice AHM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik. Nasrin was bailed in April 2022 and relaunched the company on a cash-on-delivery basis; Rassel was released from jail in December 2023 after obtaining bail in the last of the cases. Customers who paid in advance in 2021 have largely not been repaid. The lasting change is regulatory: advance payments for online orders now stay in escrow until delivery, under the Digital Commerce Operation Guidelines 2021.

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Tech BD

Editorial team of Tech BD.