Dhaka court issues arrest warrants against Unilever officials in fraud case

A Dhaka court today issued arrest warrants against Unilever Consumer Care Limited Managing Director Md Naharul Islam Molla and four other senior officials in a fraud case.

The other accused are Unilever Bangladesh Limited Finance Director Zinnia Tanzina Huq, Area Manager (Central South Region) Kaiser Mahmud Chowdhury, Senior Area Manager (Wari) M Shoaib Kamal, and Cluster Head (Central South Cluster) Syed Ziqrul Bin Zamir.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mehedi Hasan passed the order after scrutinising the police report and other relevant documents, said court bench assistant Shishir Halder.

Earlier on January 5, investigation officer Tariqul Haque, a sub‑inspector of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), submitted a probe report to the court accusing the five.

The case was filed on August 7 last year by Salauddin Ferdous, commercial executive of Agrani Group of Companies, on charges of supplying damaged and date‑expired products.

According to case documents, the complainant’s company had been marketing Unilever Bangladesh products as a distributor since September 2009, with the distribution agreement last renewed on January 28, 2024.

Between January 2020 and June 2025, damaged, expired, and defective products worth Tk 3.75 crore were allegedly supplied by Unilever Bangladesh, which were later returned to them. Despite repeated demands, the accused failed to replace the goods or refund the money, the complaint said.

It further alleged that acting on the advice of the accused, the complainant’s company purchased unnecessary delivery rickshaw vans, resulting in a loss of Tk 1.67 crore. In addition, goods were supplied on credit to various market entities, leaving outstanding receivables of Tk 3.11 crore.

When the complainant sought recovery of the total claimed loss of Tk 8.53 crore and assistance in collecting the outstanding credit, the accused allegedly began evading responsibility.

Contacted, Unilever Bangladesh told The Daily Star, "Unilever Bangladesh Limited (UBL) has learned about the recent developments in the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court of Dhaka through media reports and reaffirms its respect for the laws of the land and the judiciary. The matter remains under judicial consideration, and UBL is engaging through the appropriate legal processes."

"We strongly believe that our employees have not committed any act that constitutes a criminal offence while performing their official duties. If any warrant has been issued by the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Court of Dhaka, please note that this is a procedural step in a criminal proceeding, which will be contested by Unilever in the due course," they added.