A pioneer in Ponzi scheme, Evaly still basks in blessings

Let's have no qualms about it – Evaly is a Ponzi scheme. It is the pioneer in the e-commerce scam that has plagued the country, cheating the general public of millions. Because of Evaly the people have lost trust in online market platforms.

Evaly showed the way how to lure people with lucrative, mind-boggling offers that deny any economic sense. At the same time, it started throwing money around – from sponsoring events to putting up advertisements.

When its scam got exposed, thanks to the commerce ministry's effort, it resorted to another trickery by claiming that a big business house, Jamuna Group, is going to invest in Evaly, a claim nobody believed. Why did Evaly's owner Mohammad Rassel do it? The answer is simple. It had a deadline with the commerce ministry to explain how it would pay off its thousands of distraught customers who had paid money and did not get any goods. So he used Jamuna's name just to backstop the impending actions, and he did it successfully.

On Tuesday, Jamuna made it clear it is not going to invest in Evaly. What next? Knowing the operation of Evaly, they will now claim they are going to get some foreign investors. A dud claim that only the fools would believe. However, a scroll down on comments on anything related to Evaly would make it clear people no longer trust this Ponzi thing.

When greed begets downfall

Evaly's liabilities are huge even though the amount the company shows has not been independently audited.

It cannot deliver products to customers even months after taking payments. Many of its staff have left their jobs. The Ponzi scheme on which Evaly thrived is not working anymore for it.

Evaly Managing Director Mohammad Rassel, in the latest explanation submitted to the commerce ministry, could not mention how long it would take for the company to clear the payments of Tk206 crore to merchants.

However, at a meeting through social media last week with the admins of different groups of Evaly buyers, he said he was trying to get new investors. "It is not possible to clear old orders without new investment," he told buyers.

Evaly owes thousands of customers Tk311 crore.

Who will invest in Evaly, an e-commerce platform sinking with liabilities and a bad reputation?

After all this, what is odd is that actions are not being taken against Rassel – just in the fashion of Eorange or Dhamaka, two other similar Ponzi schemes.

Evaly episode: When central bank rises to protect us

More than a dozen accounts of Dhamaka and its top officials have been seized. The Criminal Investigation Department of police is preparing to sue the owners of the e-commerce platform since it has traced laundering of Tk100 crore against them.

Three top officials of Eorange are now behind bars after being arrested by the law enforcement agencies in a case filed by the customers for not delivering products after taking payments. Its patron, police officer Sheikh Sohel Rana fled the country and was detained by the BSF as he illegally entered India.

Last month, the e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) suspended the membership of Eorange and three others over allegations of irregularities.

Evaly was served a show-cause notice by e-CAB last July. But its membership has not been suspended though complaints of similar nature against Evaly have piled up at the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection in recent months.

Actions against some others and non-action against Evaly for indulging in same offences raised questions in public minds how the controversial platform is still enjoying the blessing of any quarter.