Nurul Amin, Dhaka: If anyone invests Tk 100,000, he will get a profit of Tk 8,450 a month, and if someone brings a new client, he will also receive 50 per cent of the new client’s investment.
This is how the ‘Sheba Ideas and Living Limited’ allegedly misappropriated Tk 570 million from customers luring them with promises of abnormal sums of profits by operating businesses in a multilevel marketing (MLM) system in the guise of real estate business.
The company’s owner purchased about 72 decimals of land in the capital’s Uttara in his name with a portion of this money.
Following the allegations, the police’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) investigated the matter for nine months, then filed a case with Uttara East police station in November 2021.
Sheba Ideas and Living Limited chairman Ashik Ghosh Asit, managing director Kazi Md Nurul Islam, deputy managing director Ayesha Akter Lipi and finance director Shahnewaz Shamim were made the accused in this case.
Investigating officer and CID’s financial crime department sub-inspector (SI) Jonayed Hossain appealed for the seizure of about 57 decimals of land bought by this firm. CID superintendent of police (media) Azad Rahman told Prothom Alo the court had ordered the seizure of about 57 decimals of that company on 22 February following the CID’s appeal.
Before this, the CID arrested six ring members who misappropriated crore of money on 10 February 2021. They are Ashik Ghosh Asit, Kazi Md Nurul Islam, Shahnewaz Shamim, Zahirul Haque, Nurul Islam and Mamun Mia. Most of them were released on bail.
CID sources said a ring started an MLM business in the guise of this company at Uttara seven years ago. They lured 2,209 clients with a return of double profits on investment in 24 months, thus, they misappropriated about Tk 570 million. The company also had no land at the beginning, but they attracted clients with other company’s brochures.
Anowar Hossain, from Mirpur, invested Tk 500,000 in the Sheba Ideas and Living Limited from his retirement pension. He told Prothom Alo, “First, I invested Tk 200,000 and received profits for three months. Again, I invested another Tk 300,000, and altogether I received Tk 100,000 in profits. Finally, the company gave me neither profit nor the principal amount.”
According to the CID investigation, the accused Kazi Nurul Islam was involved in business despite holding a government job, violating the government services rules. Besides, Ashik Ghosh Asit, Nurul Islam, Ayesha Akter and Shahnewaz Shamim took Tk 570 million from their clients. Of the money, Tk 284.7 million was deposited in various bank accounts, and Tk 15.65 million was spent on land purchases, and Tk 220 million was returned to customers in the forms of profits and capital while the remaining portion of the money could not traced.
The price of a 57-decimal land in Uttrakhan was shown at Tk 13.37 million, which is lower than the actual price, and effort is underway to sell this land.
Dhaka University international business department professor and Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) chairman Subarno Barua told Prothom Alo, “There is a large number of unemployed people and they are being cheated after investing in these MLM companies. People’s greed will not stop unless the unemployment problem is resolved.
“Law enforcement forces and agencies concerned do have not proper data on how much fraudulence occurs in the guise of MLM. If no data is available, how it will be stopped then?” he added.
