The High Court has sought to know the whereabouts of dismissed police officer Sohel Rana who was involved with the e-commerce platform E-orange.
The High Court bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Khizir Hayat passed the order on Sunday.
At the same time, the court wanted to know what steps the government has taken to bring him back to the country. The home ministry was asked to report on these issues within the next two weeks.
On April 3, 2021, some 547 customers filed a writ petition seeking the return of Tk77.46 crore and directives for investigations into the allegation of money laundering against the company.
The High Court on April 7, 2022 directed the Anti-Corruption Commission and the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit of the central bank to investigate the allegation of money laundering and embezzling customers’ money against E-orange and to submit their report within four months.
It also issued a rule asking the government to explain why directives should not be given to the authorities concerned to take legal action against those involved in siphoning off money from the customers of the e-commerce platform after investigation.
Following the order, the BFIU filed a report in the High Court on November 2. According to the report, the organization was initially owned by Sonia Mehzabin, but later it was transferred to the name of Naznin Nahar Bithi, the wife of Sonia’s brother and former police officer Sheikh Sohel Rana.
Bank transactions to the tune of Tk2,221 crore were made via a total of 13 banks, between January 2019 and September 2021, under E-orange and its affiliated organizations — Red Orange International and Orange Bangladesh Limited.
E-orange owner Sonia and her husband, along with her brother, entered the e-commerce world with their website E-orange and gradually swindled crores of taka from customers by tricking them into paying in advance for products on huge discounts, said the BFIU report.
According to a case document filed by Criminal Investigation Department (CID), last year, Sonia, her husband Masukur, Sohel and Sohel’s reported wife Naznin Nahar Bithi, another owner of the company, all allegedly gobbled up around Tk1,100 crore in advance payment without delivering purchased products to customers.
The customers of E-orange ordered products from the e-commerce platform by collecting e-tickets after clearing payments. But the company did not provide them with the products.
