E-commerce platform Evaly’s former chairman Shamima Nasrin has been permitted to reenter the controversial company following a High Court order in this regard.
The High Court asked to include Shamima, her mother and brother-in-law in the new board of directors of the company by September 22.
It also asked to keep an officer not below the rank of joint secretary of the Ministry of Commerce on the board of directors as an independent director.
Besides, the new board will have a representative of the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB). The members of the existing board — headed by former justice HM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik — constituted by the High Court can resign after the formation of the new board of directors.
On August 24, a High Court bench of Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar passed the order in this regard.
According to the order, the High Court appointed board will complete all necessary formalities to register the names of the applicants as shareholders of the company by September 9.
The audit firm appointed by the board has been asked to complete the audit of the Evaly by September 15. After receiving the audit report from the firm, the High Court constituted board will make its inquiry and observations regarding the reasons behind the closure of the e-commerce firm.
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Shamima Nasrin, her mother and brother-in-law will be inducted as members of Evaly’s board of directors in its meeting to be held on September 22. Then the existing board members appointed by the High Court can submit the resignation letter, said the court.
The High Court should be informed by September 25 over the implementation of the order through an affidavit, it said.
Shamima’s lawyer Ahsanul Karim said, “The High Court has asked to complete the audit of Evaly quickly following our petition. Shamima Nasrin, her mother and brother-in-law have been asked to be included in Evaly’s new board after completing the audit.”
Besides, the court has given the freedom to the High Court appointed board members to resign. “Hopefully, the existing board members will resign soon by handing over responsibilities to the new board of directors,” he added.
On August 10, Shamima Nasrin filed an application with the High Court seeking its permission to reopen activities of Evaly and she also prayed to include herself, her mother and her sister's husband in the board of directors.
Earlier on September 16 last year, the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested Evaly’s former chief executive officer (CEO) Mohammad Rassel and his wife Shamima in the capital's Mohammadpur following a case filed with Gulshan police station.
The couple was sued in several other cases later on.
On April 6 this year, Shamima was released on bail from the Kashimpur Women's Central Jail in Gazipur but her husband Rassel is still behind the bars.
In 2021, the Bangladesh Bank found that the dues of Evaly stood at Tk 404 crore as of mid-March, including Tk 214 crore liabilities to customers.
Following a petition filed by a customer, the High Court on September 22 last year put a moratorium on the sale or transfer of all movable and immovable properties of Evaly.
The court also issued a ruling, asking why a liquidator should not be appointed to wind down the e-commerce platform immediately.
The court on October 18, 2021, formed a four-member new board led by former justice HM Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik to manage, control, and assess the liabilities of the e-commerce firm.
