Aladinerprodip, an online multivendor e-commerce platform, has ceased all activities after its Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mehedi Hasan Moon embezzled crores of taka by running attractive advertisements and misleading ordinary buyers.
The CEO of Aladinerprodip is currently on the run, with no cases filed against him. The e-commerce platform has a total of Tk 5.21 crore deposited in two private banks, BRAC Bank and City Bank, but the accounts have been frozen.
Mehedi Hasan Moon claims to want to refund customers and has approached the authorities. However, he has not received a clear decision from the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), the Bangladesh Bank, or the Ministry of Commerce.
A list of 36 Aladinerprodip customers was submitted to the commerce ministry a year and a half ago, but no refunds have been made.
A renowned intelligence agency of the country has made a report investigating the fraudulent e-commerce company 'Aladinerprodip' and has recommended that the company make a list of all defrauded customers and return the seized money directly to the defrauded customers.
The investigation report was recently sent to the secretary of commerce. The document proposes taking legal action against Mehedi Hasan Moon to return the customers' remaining money.
In this regard, Commerce Ministry's Central Digital Commerce Cell Deputy Secretary Md Sayed Ali told The Business Post, "Legal action will be taken soon after a meeting with the relevant stakeholders."
According to the report, Moon is a final-year honours student of the Department of Sociology at Dhaka University. He started the company at a young age, attracting customers with flashy advertisements and embezzling several crores of taka in just seven months.
Initially, he targeted former and current DU students before expanding the company's operations nationwide. Despite receiving orders from over a hundred thousand customers, the company has ceased all product deliveries.
The report states that all company activities have ceased. The CEO, Mehedi Hasan Moon, is currently in hiding within the country. While no lawsuits have been filed against him yet, some customers have sent legal notices and are considering legal action if their refunds are not processed.
Aladinerprodip's Facebook page shows its last activity on June 22, 2022, where they discussed the refund mechanism for those who invested money.
Initially, it focused on attracting customers by offering various discounts, cashback campaigns, vouchers, and gift cards. The company notably adopted a 'Group Buying' model, where significant discounts are provided if a large number of customers order a substantial quantity of a particular product simultaneously.
People were mainly attracted by flashy advertisements such as "Delivery for One Taka" and "The Country's First Student-Based E-Commerce Platform." From January to June 2020, nearly a hundred thousand orders were placed across three different promotions.
In the June offer of that year, over 61,000 customers ordered various products from Aladinerprodip. The last three promotions primarily featured expensive items such as motorcycles, refrigerators, and mobile phones.
Afterwards, Aladinerprodip's operations began to change. They cut off communication with customers and even shut down their call centre. Customers complained that those who attempted frequent contact were directly blocked from the Facebook group and page.
