A writ petition has been filed with the High Court seeking its directives upon the respondents to form a high power committee for conducting an investigation into the whereabouts of the personal assets including bank accounts of the owners of ecommerce platform E-Orange.
The high power committee will comprise most efficient officers from Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and police department.
It also sought further direction from the court to freeze or confiscate those assets and money found upon the investigation.
On behalf of 500 defrauded consumers, Afjal Hossain, Arafat Ali, Tarequl Alam, Sakibul Islam Shohag, Rana Khan and Habibullah Zahid filed the petition on Sunday.
In the petition they prayed to the court to issue a rule upon the respondents to show cause as to why the failure or inaction of the respondents in taking necessary steps for securing and safeguarding the interest of e-consumers and in investigating the fraudulent actions of the E-Orange owners for laundering money fraudulently obtained from consumers should not be declared illegal.
It also prayed to the court to issue a rule as to why a direction shall not be given upon the respondents to prosecute the owners of the E-Orange and as to why a direction shall not be given upon the respondents to distribute the money recovered from the owners and others connected with the scam, if any, to the petitioners as well as to other defrauded consumers in proportion of the loss suffered by them.
Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs, governor, Bangladesh Bank, chairman, Anti-Corruption Commission, Inspector General of Police (IGP), head of Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU), Sheikh Sohel Rana, patron of E-Orange, Sonia Mahjabin, proprietor of E-Orange, and Bithi Akter have been made respondents in the petition.
The petition has already been placed in the High Court bench of Justice Md Nazrul Islam Talukder and Justice Kazi Md Ejarul Haque Akondo for hearing, said Barriser Md Abdul Qaium, a counsel for the petitioners.
On August 17 last year, customers filed a case against owners and staff of E-orange for reportedly embezzling around Tk 11 billion by not delivering their products. Sonia, her husband Masukur Rahman and some other staff are behind bars now.
