Victims Demand Tk 400 Crore Dues from Dhamaka Shopping, Urge Government and Court Intervention

Victimized sellers and customers of the e-commerce platform Dhamaka Shopping—operated by Invariant Telecom Bangladesh Ltd.—held a press conference on Wednesday, July 9, demanding the return of Tk 400 crore owed to them. They also called upon the High Court Division and the interim government to take appropriate measures to recover the dues.

The event was held at the Shafiqul Kabir Auditorium of the Dhaka Reporters Unity, where over a hundred affected business owners and customers gathered under the banner “Victims, Defrauded Businesses and Consumers of Dhamaka Shopping Dot Com.”

Presenting a written statement on behalf of the sellers, Zahidul Islam said, “Approximately 50 entrepreneurs and 3,000 consumers are owed nearly Tk 400 crore by the company. Though they have issued over a hundred cheques to the victims, all were dishonored. We have filed fraud cases, but no resolution has come. We demand the government's intervention in this matter.”

He added, “Dhamaka Shopping initially announced it would operate with Tk 200 crore in capital and claimed to have several other business entities including MicroTrade. That encouraged us to collaborate, and customers felt confident making purchases. We were further reassured when we learned that the company’s chairman was Dr. M Ali (aka Md. Mojtaba Ali), a reputed orthopedic consultant at Evercare Hospital, and its managing director was renowned businessman S.M.D. Jasim Uddin Chishti.”

Zahidul explained, “We, the business owners and consumers, have been supplying products and placing orders with Dhamaka Shopping since December 2020 in accordance with their agreements. Until March 2021, deliveries and payments were smooth. But afterward, although products were fully delivered, we— the merchants and sellers—did not receive payments as per contract. Even the customers who made advance payments for products did not get any refunds.”

Despite filing numerous petitions with the previous government and the Governor of Bangladesh Bank, victims said they received no support or solution. “Several hundred lawsuits have been filed against the chairman, managing director, and other individuals associated with Dhamaka Shopping. These cases have dragged on for four years, and the legal battle has become an overwhelming burden. The company owners still possess enough assets in Bangladesh to repay the victims, but they are not doing so,” he said.

Zahidul claimed that Chairman Md. Mojtaba Ali now denies involvement with Dhamaka Shopping. “However, he held meetings identifying himself as chairman. He even presided over a roundtable on e-commerce, where former Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi was the chief guest. Yet now, he is disowning that role.”

He appealed to the judiciary: “We urge the higher court to ensure that we receive our rightful dues by taking appropriate action against Md. Mojtaba Ali.” He also urged the government to recover the funds and arrange for the return of Managing Director S.M.D. Jasim Uddin Chishti from the United States to facilitate the repayment.

Sharing the suffering of the victims, Zahidul said, “We are living in misery without our money. Many have shut down their businesses. Some have scaled down drastically to survive. Thousands of young entrepreneurs have been ruined. We have aged in our pursuit of justice. We demand exemplary punishment for the fraudsters and request the government to take immediate steps to help us recover our dues.”