A court has issued arrest warrants against five officials of Unilever Bangladesh Limited on charges of fraud and criminal breach of trust involving the supply of expired and damaged products.

On Wednesday (January 21), the order was passed by Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Mehdi Hasan following a hearing on the case.

The officials against whom arrest warrants have been issued are:
Syed Zikrul Bin Zamir, Central South Cluster Head of Unilever Bangladesh Limited;
M. Soaib Kamal, Senior Territory Manager (Wari);
Kawsar Mahmud Chowdhury, Area Manager, Central South Region;
Mohammad Naharul Islam Molla, Managing Director of Consumer Care; and
Jinnia Haque, Finance Director.

Confirming the matter, the plaintiff’s lawyer Jahidul Islam Hiron said that Masud & Brothers, a distributor of Unilever Bangladesh, filed the case on August 7 last year, alleging fraud and criminal breach of trust. Following court instructions, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) conducted the investigation. The investigating officer Tarikul Islam submitted the investigation report on January 5 this year.

According to the case statement and investigation report, on November 3, 2009, Masud & Brothers was appointed as a distributor for Unilever Bangladesh Limited through a formal agreement. The company was assigned distribution responsibilities in the areas of Wari, Maniknagar, Sadarghat, Nawabpur Road, Malibagh, Shyampur, and Motijheel. Under the agreement, the distributor invested a large sum of money in warehouse rentals, transportation vehicles, and manpower.

Under the contract, more than 250 Unilever products, including Lux, Dove, Sunsilk, and Fair & Lovely, were marketed in the designated areas. The agreement was last renewed on January 28, 2023.

The plaintiff alleges that between January and June 2025, expired, damaged, and spoiled products worth approximately BDT 37.5 million (3.75 crore) were returned. Despite contractual obligations to replace these products or refund the money, the accused officials repeatedly delayed taking action.

It is further alleged that the accused set unrealistic and inconsistent sales targets and supplied excessive quantities of low-demand products, negatively affecting market sales. As a result, the plaintiff company reportedly suffered financial losses of approximately BDT 16.7 million (1.67 crore) between January 2020 and 2025.

According to the case allegations, by failing to replace expired products or refund money and instead appointing new distributors, the accused officials allegedly misappropriated approximately BDT 85.3 million (8.53 crore). The investigation report also states that the plaintiff company was subjected to threats and intimidation during this period.

In the investigation report, the investigating officer stated that prima facie evidence was found indicating that the accused officials acted in collusion, committing fraud, criminal breach of trust, and intimidation. Considering these findings, the court ordered the issuance of arrest warrants against them.