A Dhaka court on Thursday sentenced Evaly Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mohammad Rassel and Chairperson Shamima Nasrin to three years of rigorous imprisonment in a fraud case filed over embezzling money from a customer.

Metropolitan Magistrate Md Monirul Islam pronounced the verdict in the afternoon, fining both convicts Tk 10,000 each. In default, they will serve an additional three months in jail.

According to the case statement, Abul Kalam Azad filed the case on December 7, 2023, accusing the duo of taking Tk 23 lakh from him in 2021 for 11 motorbikes but neither delivering the products nor refunding the money.

Following the complaint, the court ordered the Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) to probe the matter. Last year on March 27 PBI Sub-Inspector Basudev Sarkar submitted a charge sheet against Rassel and Shamima.

Later, on December 9, the court framed charges and began the trial, recording testimony from three witnesses before delivering today’s judgment.

This is not the first conviction against the Evaly top brass. On April 13, the couple was handed three years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk 5,000 each in another fraud case. Earlier, on April 6, they were given three years in prison in a breach of trust case.

Additionally, on January 29, 2024, they were sentenced to two years in jail in a separate case, and on January 2, 2024, a Chattogram court sentenced them to one year in prison in a case filed by another customer.

With Thursday’s verdict, the Evaly CEO and chairperson now face a total of 12 years behind bars in five different cases.

Both Rassel and Shamima remain absconding. The court also issued arrest warrants against them as they were tried in absentia without legal defense.