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The officials of DalalPlus – yet another e-commerce platform facing widespread accusations of defrauding their customers – have vanished from their office and warehouse in Dhaka, but the company is still accepting orders from its website.
On a spot visit to the DalalPlus office at ANZ Square in Dhanmondi and its warehouse in Hazaribagh on Monday, The Business Post found both in a deserted state. ANZ Square Security guard Ruhul Amin said the e-commerce platform’s office has been vacant for nearly 15 days.
The company’s warehouse was found empty too. The correspondent tried contacting the company hotline, and messaged their official Facebook page for explanation on the matter, but the platform did not reply till the filing of this report.
Police had earlier launched an investigation into the platform after a customer filed a case against DalalPlus for digital fraud on October 5, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) sources said.
Though the platform is in hot water for not delivering products despite taking payments in advance, it continued to take orders through dalalplus.com as of Tuesday. Many consumers waiting for their deliveries for months have termed such behaviors as deeply concerning.
DalalPlus recently announced on its official Facebook page that the company is having difficulties in maintaining its brick and mortar office due to the ongoing “instability” in the country’s e-commerce sector.
The platform added that it is now offering “Smart Services” across the country, and providing refunds to customers upon request. The company also published a list of 136 refunds on their Facebook page.
A quick glance in the post’s comment section however reveals many frustrated customers who are still waiting for their refunds, and some expressed anger over not having their order number featured in the refund list.
One such customer, Abdur Rouf said, “I had ordered a motorbike on May 21 this year. DalalPlus did not feature my order number (32404) in their refund list. Months have passed, but I neither got a refund nor the delivery of my bike.”
Who owns DalalPlus?
Abdus Salam Palash – the real mastermind behind DalalPlus – is no stranger to accusations of irregularities. In 2019, the CID arrested him on charges of embezzling a large sum of money through fraud using Rex IT Institute – an information technology training centre he also owned.
Providing more details, Special Superintendent of CID’s Cyber Crime Investigation and Operations Division SM Ashrafuzzaman said, “Currently out on bail, Palash launched DalalPlus in January this year.
“Palash installed another person as the company’s owner, and continued to run the company from the shadows.”
Providing more details about Palash’s previous venture, Ashrafuzzaman said, “After launching Rex IT Institute in Dhaka’s Dhanmondi in 2017, Palash targeted his students who got admitted to the institution to learn outsourcing, graphics design, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), web development, website design, professional video editing and YouTube Advertisement.
“He began taking money from his students promising to double their investment in a month or two through CPA (cost per action) marketing. Palash embezzled a huge sum of money from his students through fraud that year.”
Police sources say Palash managed to defraud over 5,000 people using his IT training institution, embezzled Tk 150 crore to Tk 200 crore, and had set up branches at Mirpur and Uttra areas of Dhaka, as well as in Barishal and Chattogram.
Ashrafuzzaman further said, “Police had arrested Palash during the mid-2021 while he was trying to flee abroad through the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport. A court then sent him to jail.
“Palash however secured bail again and went into hiding, but the police are aware that he owns the DalalPlus platform.”
It should be noted that DalalPlus lists SM Rabbi as its CEO and cheques are issued by a person named Azizul Haque Sumon. The company has no mention of Abdus Salam Palash in its website or Facebook page.
The correspondent has tried to reach out to Rabbi and Sumon for comments on the matter using telephone and Facebook, but they did not reply till the filing of this report.
Abdus Salam Palash is currently accused in 43 cases filed at different police stations in Dhaka over multiple allegations of money laundering and forgery. The CID is investigating three of these cases.
CID official Ashrafuzzaman added that Palash created a virtual investment company named CPA marketing, advertgold.com, and adverten.com, and used those to embezzle money from his victims.
Of the three cases CID is investigating, they so far submitted two charge-sheets against Palash in forgery cases. Investigating is underway for another case filed over money laundering.
Police investigation has found that Palash amassed Tk 3.44 crore as bank deposits, bought two flats in Mohammadpur, and 3.45 decimals plot in Savar and Gazipur. The court has ordered authorities to freeze his properties.
ATM Moniruzzaman, plaintiff of a forgery case filed against Palash in 2019, said, “My son invested Tk 16 lakh in Rex IT from 2017 to 2019. Though Palash had promised him of paying back the money after getting bail, he disappeared and his mobile is currently switched off.”
