Sohel Rana in Albanian jail, seeks asylum as Sheikh Hasina's relative

The controversial e-commerce company e-Orange’s patron and former inspector of Dhaka’s Banani police station, Sheikh Sohel Rana, has been in an Albanian prison for nine months. He is reportedly seeking political asylum there.

In Albania, a country in southeast Europe, Sohel Rana has claimed to be a relative of Sheikh Hasina, the ousted prime minister of Bangladesh. He said he left Bangladesh for political reasons and fears he could face the death penalty if sent back.

Police headquarters spokesperson and Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of police AHM Shahadat Hossain told Prothom Alo, “Sohel Rana is currently in prison in Albania. We have sent multiple letters to the National Central Bureau (NCB) of the Albanian police headquarters requesting his repatriation, but they have not responded.”

• In Dhaka, Sohel Rana faces nine cases on charges of money laundering, embezzlement, and fraud. He is known as the patron of the controversial e-commerce company e-Orange.
• The company has been accused of embezzling Tk 11 billion (Tk 1,100 crore) from its customers.
• Police headquarters have sent multiple letters seeking Sohel Rana’s repatriation.

After cases were filed against him on allegations of large-scale embezzlement through e-Orange, Sohel Rana fled Bangladesh for India on 2 September 2021. The next day, while attempting to enter Nepal from India, he was arrested by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) in Cooch Bihar, West Bengal.

Sohel Rana was sentenced to two years in prison and fined 40,000 rupees in a case over illegal entry into India. He served time in a West Bengal prison. Claiming “ill health,” he secured bail from the Kolkata High Court in January last year and then went into hiding.

According to police headquarters, efforts were made to bring Sohel Rana back from India, and several letters were exchanged, but without success.
He eventually fled India, traveling through Portugal to Albania, where he was arrested on 1 February. After his arrest, he was sent to prison. Bangladesh police learned of the arrest through the National Central Bureau (NCB) of the Albanian police headquarters.

Sohel Rana is from Gopalganj is Bangladesh. He faces nine cases in Dhaka on charges of money laundering, misappropriation of funds and fraud. Speaking to Prothom Alo, police officials said an Interpol red notice has been in effect against Sohel Rana since 2022. The notice was issued in connection with a money laundering case filed by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID). Based on that notice, Albania’s National Central Bureau (NCB), with Interpol’s assistance, arrested Sohel Rana.

About six months ago, Albanian television channel MCN TV aired a talk show and a report on the arrest of Sohel Rana. It was reported that he was arrested on 1 February after arriving at Albania’s Rinas Airport from Portugal. In Bangladesh, he faces cases on charges of fraud and murder.

Sohel Rana claimed that he had held a high-ranking position in the Bangladesh police and that he comes from Sheikh Hasina’s family.
During the MCN TV talk show, Sohel Rana’s lawyer, Edon Mexi, said that under the European Convention on Human Rights, Albania cannot extradite a foreign national to a country where they may face the death penalty.

Expatriate journalist Zulkernain Saer Khan mentioned Sohel Rana’s detention in Albania and the MCN TV programme about it in a verified Facebook post last October.

Several officials at police headquarters told Prothom Alo that under Albanian law, if a foreign national is accused of murder in their home country, they can file a case in an Albanian court seeking asylum. Sohel Rana has taken advantage of this provision and filed such a case in Albania.
In his petition, he claimed that a murder case had been filed against him at Dhaka’s Gulshan police station in connection with last year’s July uprising.

He alleged that if he were to return to Bangladesh, he would be sentenced to death in that case. A false affidavit supporting this supposed case was submitted to the Albanian court on his behalf. Following that, the Albanian authorities sent a letter to the National Central Bureau (NCB) at Bangladesh police headquarters requesting information about the alleged case against him.

In response, police headquarters informed Albania’s NCB that no murder case had been filed against Sohel Rana at Gulshan police station in connection with the July uprising. It also clarified that he fled the country on 2 September 2021 and was arrested in India the next day.

Regarding the lack of response from Albania despite multiple letters requesting Sohel Rana’s repatriation, a police official told Prothom Alo, “When a foreign national is arrested there, the person is tried under Albanian law for their alleged offence. Since the verdict in Sohel Rana’s case has not yet been delivered, that may be why they have not responded so far.”

Around 2020, the e-commerce sector in Bangladesh experienced rapid growth. Police officials told Prothom Alo that during this period, Banani police station inspector at the time, Sohel Rana, along with his wife Naznin Nahar, sister Sonia Mehjabin, and brother-in-law Mashukur Rahman, established an online platform called e-Orange. Using various inducements, the company quickly attracted customers’ attention. The core objective of all its operations was to defraud customers of large sums of money. After about a year, customers realised they had fallen victim to e-Orange’s fraud.

On 18 August 2021, a case was filed at Gulshan police station against e-Orange for embezzlement of Tk 11 billion (Tk 1,100 crore). Following the case, Sohel Rana’s name came into the spotlight, and he was subsequently named in cases himself. After the filing of the cases, he fled to India. Police reportedly informed that he had been suspended.

Meanwhile, Sohel Rana’s sister Sonia and her husband Mashukur were arrested in connection with the case and imprisoned. However, they have recently been released on bail. Sohel Rana’s wife Naznin remains absconding.

The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is investigating the money laundering case. Officials involved in the investigation have stated that evidence has so far been found of illicit earnings amounting to Tk 3.58 billion (Tk 358 crore) against Sohel Rana.

CID spokesperson and special superintendent of police Jasim Uddin Khan told Prothom Alo that the money laundering case is still under investigation. For the sake of the investigation, Sohel Rana needs to be brought back to Bangladesh. Accordingly, CID has submitted an application to police headquarters for his repatriation. Additionally, an application has been made for the re-issuance of an Interpol Red Notice against him.