A Dhaka court has issued arrest warrants against five senior officials of Foodpanda Bangladesh and its sister concern Pandamart in a case involving allegations of fraud, embezzlement, forgery and intimidation.
The order was issued on Wednesday by Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Jashita Islam’s court after taking investigation reports into consideration.
The accused are Foodpanda Bangladesh Co-founder and Managing Director Ambareen Reza, Co-founder and Director Zubair Siddiky, Head of Category Delara Farooq, Senior Category Manager Sajadul Haque and Pandamart Director Mohammad Tabrej Khan.
The case was filed by Shihab Mahmud Bashir, Proprietor of First Tele Sales Company, who alleged that around Tk6 crore was misappropriated.
According to court documents, Bashir filed four separate cases with a Dhaka court on 3 July last year, alleging financial losses.
The Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court later directed Gulshan Police Station to investigate the complaints and submit reports.
After investigation, Gulshan Police Station Sub-Inspector Md Mashiur Rahman submitted a report in one case, while Sub-Inspector Md Sakhawat Hossain submitted a report in another.
The court on Wednesday accepted the reports and issued warrants against the accused officials.
In the complaints, Bashir alleged that he supplied household and kitchen accessories, mobile accessories and other products to Pandamart, the quick commerce platform of foodpanda Bangladesh, through IPLE Electronics.
He claimed that between June 2022 and September 2024, products worth around Tk2.5 crore were supplied through different purchase orders.
Against those supplies, around Tk1.5 crore was paid, while nearly Tk1 crore remained unpaid, according to the complaint.
The complaint further alleged that when Bashir visited the company’s office with representatives on 26 June last year to demand payment, the accused officials threatened him.
It also alleged that the company attempted to reduce outstanding payments by showing supplied products as damaged and preparing false return documents.
The complaint further alleged that around Tk10 lakh was deducted for VAT, tax and advertising expenses in violation of contractual terms.
In a statement, DH Stores Holding, the parent holding entity of the accused employees, said it respected Bangladesh’s laws and judicial process and would contest the allegations through appropriate legal procedures.
The company said the allegations against its employees did not amount to any criminal offence and that the warrants issued by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court were a procedural step in the cases.
DH Stores said it had already secured bail from the High Court for all employees involved.
The company said the four criminal cases were linked to an ongoing commercial dispute over dishonoured cheques issued by Bashir, with payments allegedly still owed to Delivery Hero Stores (Bangladesh) Limited, the local entity overseeing Pandamart operations.
It alleged that the cases were retaliatory attempts to shift responsibility for the commercial dispute and damage the company’s reputation.
DH Stores said the same police station investigated all four cases and that two reports found no criminal elements against its employees while establishing that the complainant owed money to the company.
The company said it remained committed to resolving the dispute through the courts and establishing that the matter was commercial and contractual rather than a criminal issue.
