Dhaka, Jan. 29 -- A Dhaka court has sentenced Mohammad Rassel, the founder of e-commerce company Evaly, and his wife Shamima Nasrin, the company's chairman, to two years in prison each in a case of breach of trust and fraud.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Partha Bhadra announced the verdict on Wednesday. In addition to the prison sentence, he fined the two defendants Tk 10,000 each and sentenced them to two months in prison if they failed to pay the fine.

Neither Rassel nor Shamima was present in court for the verdict. The judge issued a warrant of arrest along with their sentences, identifying them as "fugitives", said the plaintiff's lawyer Tausif Mahmud.

After launching in December 2018, online marketplace Evaly grew in popularity by...