If consumer rights have to be protected, then closing Evaly down is not a viable solution as this will only hurt investors and consumers, Evaly CEO and Managing Director Mohammad Rassel said on Saturday.
Going live from Facebook, he said: “Everyone has been advocating for protecting the interests of the consumers and their future. But how will it resolve the issue if we are shut down? It is not possible to return investments just by closing down an institution.”
Rassel says, rather than resolving the issue, Evaly is being pushed for its closure on the basis of a report.
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“It is being said that it will not be possible to make up for the losses, which is not right,” he said.
A recent report by the Bangladesh Bank had concluded that Evaly's debt was six times more than its assets, leaving it with a total liability of Tk407 crore.
It also said the company had taken an advance of Tk214 crore from customers, and Tk190 crore from merchants. As per the law, the company should have working assets of at least Tk404 crore but Evaly had only Tk65 crore in assets.
Besides, advance payment of Tk339 crore from customers and merchants taken by Evaly till March 14 could not be traced, which authorities think have been embezzled or laundered.
Rassel, however, said Evaly can recover its losses over the next six months if the opportunity is provided to do so.
“It is possible to recover this loss by doing a business valuation. Now we have many big companies with us. We have companies like Oppo, Samsung, Techno, Jamuna Electronics, Walton, Bashundhara Group, Bata, and Coca-Cola. Are these companies doing business with us without realizing it?” he asked.
“Give us a chance to carry on with the business following the guidelines — we will not let our stakeholders down and will deliver all the old orders within the next six months,” Rassel further said.
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“Evaly has already delivered 7 million orders to customers since its inception. Its market value is about Tk6000 crore with 1 million unique customers. Orders are pouring in, even with the ongoing crisis we are facing. Even today we have received orders worth Tk20 crore.
“In days to come, we will be able to reduce our losses by gradually reducing the discount offers,” the Evaly CEO said.
According to the MD, Evaly has already disbursed several refund checks and is currently indulged with two separate banks which will take another seven to 10 days to resolve the issue. It is also undergoing discussions with the regulatory authorities.
During the live broadcast, he also accused Evaly of being subjected to propaganda and claimed although the propaganda would benefit a few, if the platform is shut down, a large number of consumers and investors/merchants would lose.
