Demand to withdraw e-Orange case due to political considerations
The leaders of the much-discussed e-commerce company e-Orange and Payment Gateway Software Shop Limited (SSL) have requested to withdraw the money laundering case of embezzling about Tk 3.58 billion from customers, claiming it is ‘political harassment’. The application, made to the Dhaka Deputy Commissioner, is currently awaiting the opinion of the Dhaka Metropolitan Public Prosecutor’s Office. The application states that they have been made accused in this case because they are staunch followers of the political ideology of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party.
In October 2021, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police filed a case against e-Orange at Gulshan Police Station under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act on charges of laundering Tk 2.32 billion 43 lakh. In the case statement, e-Orange owners Sonia Mehzabin and Bithi Akhter, Chief Operating Officer Aman Ullah Chowdhury, Advisor Masukur Rahman, and Director former Police Inspector Sheikh Sohel Rana were named as accused.
The complaint states that the accused committed money laundering by taking advance money from customers in the name of e-commerce business and withdrawing cash outside of business transactions and transferring it to bank accounts. The gang defrauded by not delivering the goods even after receiving the customer’s money through the payment gateway. The complaint states that money laundering of Tk 232.43 crore was committed. After investigating the case, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the police filed a chargesheet in the court in September last year under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, accusing 12 people, including dismissed police inspector Sheikh Sohel Rana, one of the leaders of e-Orange. The chargesheet states that the embezzlement of Tk 357.95 crore against the accused has been initially proven.
The chargesheeted persons are Sheikh Sohel Rana, his sister Sonia Mehjabin, owner of e-Orange, Sonia’s husband Masukur Rahman, aunt Mohammad Zayedul Firoz, another owner of e-Orange, Bithi Akhter, officials Amanullah Chowdhury, Mehedi Hasan, Nazmul Alam Russell and Manjur Alam Parvez, and Software Shop Limited (SSL) chairman Sabrina Islam, managing director Saiful Islam and official Nurul Huda. Of these, Sonia, Masukur, Amanullah and Nazmul were arrested. Currently, Sonia and Masukur are in jail.
In the application for withdrawal of this case (No. 6-10-2021) of Gulshan Police Station, the applicants have asked the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka to withdraw the case or remove their names from the case. The petitioners are Sabrina Islam, owner of Software Shop Limited, her husband Managing Director Saiful Islam and Chief External Affairs Officer Col. Md. Nurul Huda (retd.).
The petition states that the petitioners are staunch followers of the political ideology of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, and the previous autocratic Awami League government has tried to cause various damages to the renowned organization ‘Software Shop Limited’, which has proven itself dedicated and capable in the digital payment industry, by abusing the law out of political vendetta. They were not accused in the case. Since they believed in the ideology of BNP, the then head of the CID (compulsorily retired) Additional IGP Mohammad Ali Mia and the investigating officer accused them and filed a charge sheet against them. They have been included in the charge sheet of this case only for political reasons.
The petition further states that the petitioners have taken payment gateway services from Software Shop Limited – one such e-commerce company is E-Orange Shop. The petitioners have no other relationship with them. The then CID chief Mohammad Ali Mia, who falsely approved the inclusion of the petitioners in the case, was sent on compulsory retirement on August 5, 2024, on other serious charges including corruption and participation in political oppression after the fall of the fascist government.
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