The e-commerce platform Evaly owes over Tk 2.058 billion to its merchants until July 15, according to the company.
The platform informed it in a submission to the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) recently in response to a show-cause notice, served by the ministry.
But in the reply letter, it did not mention any deadline to make payment to the merchants.
Evaly said it operates business directly with producers and importers concerned. Currently, the agreements in relation to credit facility are maintained with all the suppliers concerned.
The suppliers made minimum 15-20 per cent profit on an average by operating business with Evaly, it also said.
The platform claimed that the fund, owed to its merchants, was very normal and acceptable amount.
Besides, it also claimed that the suppliers were also benefited by operating business with Evaly during the ongoing pandemic.
The platform would make payments to the customers concerned within the next five months by operating its normal business activities and gaining desired investment.
A senior official of the MoC said the committee on Evaly, formed by the ministry, would sit soon to take next course of actions regarding the platform.
Until July 15, the e-commerce firm owes about Tk 3.11 billion to customers, it said on August 26 in response to the MoC show-cause notice.
The company has more than 200,000 customers, it told the ministry. To date, over 7.0 million products against purchase orders have been delivered 'successfully', Evaly added.
On August 1, the e-commerce platform sought minimum six months' time to respond in details to the ministry's show-cause notice, served on July 19.
An inter-ministry committee on Evaly sought explanation from Evaly by August 19 about its available assets and liabilities until July 15.
It also instructed the online platform to provide the amount of liabilities to the customers by August 26, including the number of related customers until July 15.
The ministry asked Evaly to provide the amount of liabilities to the merchants by September 02. Accordingly, the platform submitted information on its liabilities to the ministry on August 19.
The current liabilities of the e-commerce platform stood at Tk 5.43 billion, according to its reply.
However, in its wealth statement, the company claimed that it has Tk 1.21 billion as assets, which could make up for 22.30 per cent of its debts.
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) launched inquiry on irregularities by Evaly, following a request from the MoC on July 04.
The commission later sent separate letters to different government agencies, seeking documents linked to the debt-ridden Evaly.
"As part of the investigation, we have sought documents on Evaly from different organisations," said ACC Secretary Dr Md Anwar Hossain Hawlader on September 02.
The letters were sent to the MoC, Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) of Bangladesh Bank, city corporations, Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC), Criminal Investigation Department (CID), and some others organisations, according to the ACC sources.
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