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Stuck money in escrow

Refund of escrow money from next week


Published : 08 Jan 2022 10:27 PM | Updated : 09 Jan 2022 02:48 PM

Customers are likely to get their money back from a dozen e-commerce companies, which have been stuck in different payment gateways for a long time.

Commerce ministry in its latest move has confirmed this. In the country’s different gateway around Tk 214 crore has been stuck of the affected customers. Affected customer of such e commerce companies that are out of any kind of judiciary restrictions will first get their money back. 

The process of returning money will start from this month.    

According to commerce ministry, Bangladesh Bank instructed the payment gateways to start refunding the money of the e-commerce companies stuck in the escrow service on December 15. 

But there are many allegations against so many e-commerce companies. However, the ministry sent a letter to the police headquarters at the end of December to inform the ministry of all the cases against the e-commerce companies within seven days for the release of this money.

Affected customers will start getting their money within January following the information received from police headquarters. 

The matter of Evaly, the most talked about e-commerce Company, is being looked after by a committee constituted by the High Court. The committee is headed by former Justice HM Samsuddin Chowdhury Manik. The committee will give their observations on how the issue of Evaly will be settled. 

Commerce ministry additional secretary A. H. M. Safiquzzaman when connected said, “We are still to know which e-commerce companies have how many cases as several law enforcement agencies are there. They all are said to inform us the right information against all e-commerce companies at an earliest.” 

Conscious Consumer Association Executive director Palash Mahmud told Bangladesh Post, “The way the ministry is thinking to refund the money to the affected customers’ needs to be changed. As most of the e-commerce companies except a few have legal complications, refunding money to customers is likely a far cry.” 

However, he also informed that they are going to apply for another hearing at the court today (Saturday).