Rapid Action Battalion has arrested the e-commerce platform Dhamaka Shopping’s Chief Operating Officer Sirajul Islam Rana and two others in a case filed on charges of fraudulence and money embezzlement.
They were apprehended following the lawsuit filed by a victim with Tongi west police station in Gazipur on September 23, the battalion said on Wednesday.
The case was filed against 11 people, including Dhamaka chairman, managing director, and COO.
The battalion personnel conducted a drive in the capital’s Tejgaon area in the early hours of Wednesday and arrested COO Rana, 34, Md Imtiaz Hasan Sabuj, 31, and Md Ibrahim Swapan, 33, according to a RAB press statement.
During the primary interrogation, they revealed that the firm with more than three lakh customers has no approval or licence to run business.
The company plotted to embezzle a large amount of money through their business, the trio informed RAB.
Dhamaka Shopping, a sister concern of Microtrade/Invariant Group, was founded by SMD Jashimuddin Chisty, also the managing director of the e-commerce outlet. He left Bangladesh for the USA last April.
The Criminal Investigation Department of police has found evidence that Dhamaka MD Chisty had fled the country after laundering around Tk 100 crore to the United States.
Chisty, however, claimed that he had left the country after delivering products to his customers.
“I have collected Tk 580 crore from my customers and delivered products worth Tk 542 crore. So, how did I launder money?” he questioned while speaking at a Facebook live from the US recently.
Dhamaka allegedly owes more than Tk 300 crore to customers and merchants.
On September 9, the CID sued the owners of Dhamaka Shopping for laundering around Tk 117 crore.
They sued the company’s MD, his wife, their children, a director of the company, and four other organisations.
Earlier on July 27, the Bangladesh Bank ordered the freezing of 14 personal bank accounts of Dhamaka officers, including the personal bank accounts of its managing director based on information about money laundering.
Although Dhamaka started business in November 2020, the e-commerce firm is yet to open a business bank account of its own and has instead been collecting money from buyers through private and personal bank accounts.
Dhamaka has reportedly collected a hefty amount of money in advance from customers with offers ranging from 40 to 50 per cent discounts on various products, including cars and motorcycles.
The company also offered 35 per cent discounts on cars of various reputed luxury brands, including Mercedes-Benz.
