Alesha Mart chairman arrested, sent to jail

E-commerce platform Alesha Mart chairman Manjurul Alam Sikder was arrested in the Banani area of bangladesh capital Dhaka Saturday night as arrest warrants were issued against him in fraud and money laundering cases.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Gulshan division deputy commissioner Rifat Rahman Shamim said that Manjurul was arrested based on a tip-off.

Police produced him before the Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Court on Sunday and the count sent him to jail.

The police officer said that Manjurul faced arrest warrants in over a hundred cases filed over e-commerce fraudulence. 

A police officer said that Manjurul went into hiding since the customers had been protesting and filing cases against him. He managed to flee the country, and recently returned to Bangladesh, the police officer said, adding that the police got a tip-off and arrested him.

According to an investigation of the Criminal Investigation Department of the police, the United States-based Awami League leader Abul Kasem and e-commerce platform Alesha Mart chairman Manjurul have laundered Tk 421 crore while trying to obtain the licence of a bank.

After the primary investigation, a CID assistant police superintendent from financial crime unit lodged a money laundering case against Kasem, Manjurul and his wife Sadia Chowdhury, and the owner of SK Traders Al Mamun with the Banani police station on May 31, 2023, over the money laundering.

The Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court in last June barred Manjurul from travelling abroad in the case filed under the Money Laundering Act.

The court also ordered to freeze all properties of Alesha Mart.

Following complaints of fraud from almost 3,000 clients of Alesha Mart, the CID carried out an investigation.

Alesha Holdings Limited, Alesha Card Limited, Alesha Engineering And Services Limited, Alesha Tech Limited, Alesha Food and Beverages Limited, Alesha Ride Limited, Alesha Export Import Limited, Alesha Pharmacy Limited and Alesha Agro Limited were also made accused in the case, said the CID investigators.