Having already taken huge amounts in advance payments pledging hefty discounts and now limping to deliver products or refunds, Alesha Mart has now requested the commerce ministry to help secure a Tk 300 crore loan.

In a letter to the ministry's Digital Commerce Cell (DCC) on Monday, the e-commerce platform requested it to send a note to positively influence Bangladesh Bank so that it could avail the loan from a bank to run operations.

The ministry's approval is required as the DCC is now supervising e-commerce issues, said AHM Shafiquzzaman, additional secretary to the ministry and chief of the DCC, yesterday.

"We have not taken any decision, we have only discussed the issue with senior officials," he said.

Alesha Mart, a subsidiary of Alesha Holdings Ltd, was launched on January 1 this year to get a slice of the rapidly expanding online market by promising buyers faster delivery, quality products and hefty discounts with the slogan "Click, Relax, Enjoy".

But the buyers' satisfaction appeared to fade within six months. Many started lodging complaints with the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection for not getting products or refunds of advance payments.

On December 1 the e-commerce platform halted its official operations until further notice, citing "an unwanted situation and inadequate security".

A number of e-commerce platforms mushroomed since the middle of last year, when the first lockdown was lifted. They were taking advance payments luring customers with as much as 70 to 80 per cent discounts.

It later surfaced that they were not delivering products or providing refunds. 

Alesha Mart itself claimed to still have around 7,000 pending orders worth Tk 200 crore although the actual figures are believed to be much higher.

Apart from this, owners and officials of several e-commerce companies have been arrested on various charges, including fraudulence.

The government is investigating various allegations against several companies, including Alesha Mart.

Manjurul Alam Sikder, chairman and managing director of Alesha Mart, could not be reached for comment.