Foodpanda fraud, Tk 4cr embezzled
Shihab Mahmud Bashir, proprietor of IPLE Distribution Network, filed four cases with Dhaka courts against Pandamart, a subsidiary of Foodpanda Limited, alleging fraud, forgery and embezzlement of Tk 5.6 crore in total. Police have submitted reports in two of the cases to the court, which found embezzlement of roughly Tk 3.77 crore (Tk 3,77,46,250).
On 23 September, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Joshita Islam issued arrest warrants against five people in these two cases. They include Foodpanda Bangladesh managing director and Pandamart director Syeda Ambareen Raza.
The others named are managing director Zubair B. A. Siddiqui, director Tabrez Khan (an Indian national), head of category Dilara Faruk and senior manager Sajedul Haque.
Gulshan police investigated both cases on the court’s order. Sub-Inspector Mashiur Rahman submitted the report in the Tk 2.5 crore case on 22 June, and Sub-Inspector Sakhawat Hossain submitted the other on 26 July. In both, the investigation found more embezzled than originally alleged.
Sakhawat Hossain said Foodpanda was not a fraudulent operation and was still trading. Mashiur Rahman said the case was document-based and the allegations were substantiated.
The Tk 2.5 crore case: Shihab imported goods legally and sold them locally. In June 2022 he signed a contract with Pandamart to sell his imported products, and between June 2022 and January 2025 he supplied goods worth about Tk 4 crore. The report says the accused initially paid on time but later delayed payment without valid reason and threatened him when he pressed for it.
It alleges they created fake invoices claiming goods had spoiled, even though the contract had no provision for spoilage or returns, and that the documents were signed by unidentified people or their own staff.
It also alleges they closed the business without the three months’ notice the contract required, causing losses on staff, warehouse rent, freezer van hire and expired stock, and deducted Tk 10 lakh for tax, VAT, bank margin and advertising. Shihab originally claimed Tk 2.3 crore, but the investigation put his loss at Tk 2,53,18,782.
The Tk 1.25 crore case: Shihab supplied goods worth Tk 3 crore between January and September 2023. He alleges he was paid Tk 2.6 crore, leaving Tk 40 lakh unpaid, plus Tk 60 lakh in losses and a Tk 50 lakh deduction for tax, VAT, bank margin and advertising. He originally claimed Tk 1.05 crore, but the investigation put his loss at Tk 1,24,27,046.
Shihab filed all four cases on 3 July last year, and the other two are still under investigation. He said the allegations had been proven and that many others had been similarly defrauded. He also claimed there are 12 hidden facilities in Dhaka and one in Chittagong producing banned and intoxicating products, and that the investigation uncovered such irregularities. This is his claim, not something the article establishes.
His lawyer, Kazi Mofizul Islam, said the police report found the allegations prima facie true, after which the court issued the warrants.
Syeda Ambareen Raza, Foodpanda Bangladesh’s co-founder and managing director, said Foodpanda is a foreign company. She said she was unaware of the case and that their legal firm was looking into it.
