Top officials of Foodpanda Bangladesh have been accused of withholding payments for goods worth several crore taka, creating fake return invoices on the pretext of damaged products, and deducting money under various heads beyond the terms of their agreements.

On Wednesday (September 23), a court issued arrest warrants against five officials of the company in four separate cases filed over allegations of fraud, misappropriation of funds, forgery and intimidation.

The accused are Foodpanda Bangladesh Co-founder and Managing Director (MD) Syeda Ambarin Reza, Co-founder and Director Zubayer Siddiqui, Pandamart Director Md Tabrez Khan, Head of Category Dilara Faruk, and Senior Manager Mohammad Sajedul Haque.

According to the case documents, Shihab Mahmud Bashir, a businessman in Dhaka and proprietor of First Teli Sales Company, filed four separate cases. Taking the cases into cognizance, Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Dhaka Md Chanauallah directed Gulshan Police Station to investigate them.

The cases are numbered 3517/25, 3518/25, 3519/25 and 3520/25.

According to the first information reports, the complainant imported household and kitchen accessories, mobile accessories and other products through IPLE Electronics and supplied them to Pandamart, an affiliated company of Foodpanda.

Between June 2022 and September 2024, products worth around Tk 2.5 crore were supplied through various purchase orders.

The complainant alleged that around Tk 1.5 crore was paid against the supplied goods, while approximately Tk 1 crore remained unpaid. The outstanding amount was allegedly withheld for a prolonged period while various excuses were given to delay settlement.

The cases also contain more serious allegations that fake return invoices were prepared by showing that some of the supplied products had been damaged. The complainant alleged that the move was intended to reduce the amount shown as payable.

In addition, around Tk 10 lakh was allegedly deducted under VAT, tax and advertising expenses in violation of the terms of the agreement.

The allegations have raised questions over transparency in business transactions and accounting practices, particularly amid the supply of goods worth crores of taka and the accumulation of substantial unpaid dues. The investigation may examine whether the claims of product returns were genuine, how the return invoices were prepared, and the actual reasons behind the non-payment of the outstanding amount.

Four separate cases were filed against six officials of Foodpanda Bangladesh Limited over the same allegations, and an investigation began following the court’s orders.

Following the issuance of the arrest warrants, attention is now focused on the progress of the investigation and the next legal steps in the cases.