Rapid Action Battalion arrested chief operation officer of e-commerce platform Dhamaka Sirajul Islam Rana and two others from the capital’s Tejgaon Industrial Area on Wednesday morning.
RAB’s legal and media wing director Khanader Al-Moin confirmed it.
The arrested were identified as managing director of the company Jasimuddin Chishti, chairman M Ali alias Mojtaba Ali, COO Sirajul Islam Rana.
The three officials of Dhamaka were arrested in a case filed with Tongi West Police Station in Gazipur on charges of fraud and embezzlement.
The plaintiff had ordered goods worth Tk 11.55 lakh from Dhamaka after seeing lucrative offers on its website on March 20, said the case statement.
He paid the money for the product through 64 invoices, but he did not get the products within the time.
According to the RAB officials, Dhamaka has no business operation license and other legal documents.
The firm has transacted around Tk 750 crore through the e-commerce platform and most of the money were embezzled.
Dhamaka Shopping is not authorised and has no license to run e-commerce business, its arrested officials admitted to RAB during primary interrogation.
In a press briefing in the capital city Khanader Al-Moin claimed that the e-commerce company has so far conducted business transactions worth Tk750 crore through the account of Invariant Telecom Bangladesh Limited, a software development company based in Dhaka.
All the activities of the company have remained suspended since July this year after its money was moved elsewhere in April.
As a result, the office and depot rents, as well as employee salaries since June, were not paid.
The e-commerce platform currently owes Tk180-190 crore to sellers and nearly Tk200 crore to customers, RAB said in the briefing.
Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has been investigating money laundering allegations against Dhamaka Shopping since 30 June.
Later, CID filed a Tk116 crore money laundering case against the company.
The accused in the case are SMD Jasim Uddin Chisti, managing director of Dhamaka Shopping and Invariant Telecom; Saida Rokshana Khanam, Chisti's wife and director of Invariant Telecom; their son Tashrif Ridwan Chisti, chairman of Invariant Technologies; Mashfique Ridwan Chishti, director Invariant Technologies; Safwan Ahmed, director of Dhamaka Shopping and Invariant Telecom; and Nazim Uddin Asif, managing director of Invariant Technologies.
Invariant Telecom Bangladesh Limited, Micro Trade, Invariant Technologies Limited, and Micro Trade Food and Beverage Limited, owned by the Chisti family, have also been accused in the case.
According to the Financial Crime Unit of the CID's Organised Crime Division, most of the money of Dhamaka was smuggled into the United States by its managing director and his family members.
After delivering products to some customers in the beginning, Dhamaka Shopping stopped delivering goods to its customers and embezzled the money.
