The High Court has imposed a moratorium on any sale of Evaly assets, responding to an appeal filed by a disgruntled customer.
The court order issued by Justice Muhammad Khurshid Alam Sarkar on Wednesday also prohibits the transfer of assets held by the e-commerce company, reports bdnews24.com.
Evaly, founded in 2018, has racked up a debt of Tk 5.43 billion to its suppliers and customers.
Managing Director Mohammad Rassel and his wife Shamima Nasrin were arrested on Sept 16 over a case filed at Dhanmondi Police Station by a customer who alleged he was defrauded of Tk 310,000 and faced death threats when he attempted to complain to Rassel.
On Sept 17, another case was filed at Gulshan Police Station against 20 Evaly officials by a supplier who claimed he was due to be paid Tk 3.6 million.
Police initially received a three-day remand to question Rassel and Nasrin over the Dhanmondi case. At the end of that term, they received a second remand of one day to interrogate Rassel over the Gulshan case. Nasrin, a chairman of the e-commerce company, was sent to jail.
Meanwhile, the Dhanmondi offices of the company were shut down on Saturday, with staff directed to work from home until further notice.
On Monday the High Court had raised questions about the government's efforts to curb money laundering schemes operating in the name of e-commerce, multi-level marketing and microcredit businesses in response to the Evaly scandal
The court also raised questions about the government's willingness to recover the embezzled funds from various banks and financial institutions.
Evaly’s system, which thrived on stupendous cashback offers, came under scrutiny after the Ministry of Commerce and Bangladesh Bank opened a probe into their workings and found a significant amount of embezzlement.
Evaly appeared to be lying low after the government announced new steps to regulate digital marketplaces, leaving scores of disgruntled customers in the lurch.
The Anti-Corruption Commission is also investigating claims from the commerce ministry that Evaly misappropriated Tk 3.38 billion from customers and merchants, and began investigations on Jul 8.
The court, on Jul 15, ordered a travel ban on Rassel and his wife, following a plea from the anti-graft watchdog on Jul 9.