Alesha Mart chairman, his wife get six months' jail over cheque fraud

A court has sentenced Md Monzurul Alam Sikder, the chairman of controversial e-commerce platform Alesha Mart Ltd, and his wife Sabia Chowdhury to six months in jail for cheque fraud.

Judge Tasruzzaman of the Dhaka Joint Metropolitan Sessions Judge’s Court-2 also fined the couple Tk 346,500 in the verdict delivered on Thursday.

As the defendants were not present in court at the time, the judge issued an arrest warrant and a sentencing warrant against them, said lawyer Nikunja Bihari Acharya, who represented the plaintiff in the case.

Alesha Mart was among several e-commerce companies that came to the spotlight amid widespread allegations of fraud in the sector. Many customers complained that they did not receive the products they paid for and did not get their money back either.

Alesha Mart Chairman Monzur and several others in the company have been accused in several cases. He is facing nine cases over cheque fraud. On Jun 15, he secured bail in these cases.

According to the verdict, a customer named Nuruzzaman Ripon ordered a motorcycle at a discount from Alesha Mart on Jun 8, 2021. He paid 250,310 for it through a mobile banking platform. His motorcycle was not delivered 45 days after his payment.

After repeated attempts to get his purchase, Alesha Mart presented Ripon with a cheque of Tk 346,500 on Dec 28, 2021 as compensation.

Ripon then went to the Sonali Bank branch at Dhaka’s District Council Hall on Mar 20, 2022, to cash the cheque and it was ‘dishonoured’.

He contacted Alesha Mart several times about the money, but they began to argue with him over the issue. On May 19, 2022, he filed a case against Alesha Mart.

Alesha Mart was registered at the Office of the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Forms on Jul 26, 2020.

It secured a trade licence from the Dhaka North City Corporation on Nov 10, 2020. Its official opening was Jan 7, 2021.