Editorial, News & commercial office:
55/A, H M Siddique Mansion (Level-7), Purana Paltan, Motijhel C/A, Dhaka-1000. Phone: +8802226640056,
e-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has launched an investigation into allegations of suspicious share transactions and possible money laundering involving a Beneficiary Owner (BO) account held by a client of BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Limited. The inquiry will be conducted on the basis of an intelligence report received from the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU).
To this end, the commission has formed a three-member investigation committee, which has been instructed to complete the inquiry and submit a detailed report within 60 working days. The order was recently issued by the BSEC's Market Intelligence and Investigation Department.
The committee comprises BSEC Deputy Director Muhammad Warisul Hasan Rifat, Assistant Director Md Ashraful Hasan and Assistant Director Ali Ahsan.
BSEC Executive Director and spokesperson Abul Kalam said the commission had decided to initiate the investigation based on intelligence and a report received from the BFIU.
He said the commission treats allegations of suspicious stock market transactions, share price manipulation and money laundering with the utmost importance. The investigation will examine the nature of the transactions in the BO account, the source of the funds and whether any existing laws or regulations have been violated. If evidence of irregularities is found, appropriate legal action will be taken.
According to the BSEC order, the BFIU recently sent an intelligence report to the commission requesting necessary action over suspicious and unusual transactions in the BO account of Md Shahadat Hossain, a client of BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage Limited. After reviewing the report, the commission considered the matter seriously and concluded that a detailed investigation was necessary.
Accordingly, following a decision taken at the BSEC commission meeting on 14 July, the three-member investigation committee was constituted under Section 21 of the Securities and Exchange Ordinance, 1969, Section 17A of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission Act, 1993, and the powers conferred by the Money Laundering Prevention Act, 2012 (as amended in 2015).
Under the order, the committee must complete the investigation within the stipulated timeframe and submit a comprehensive report to the commission. Subsequent regulatory, administrative or legal action will be taken based on the committee's recommendations.
Market insiders said the BSEC has recently intensified surveillance to tackle unusual trading, abnormal fluctuations in share prices, market manipulation and the potential risk of money laundering in the capital market. The commission has already been conducting inspections, inquiries and investigations into various brokerage houses, merchant banks, asset management companies and other market-related institutions. As part of this broader effort, transactions in a specific BO account have now come under scrutiny based on information supplied by the BFIU.
According to those familiar with the matter, stronger information-sharing and coordinated oversight between the BFIU and the BSEC will make it easier to detect the flow of illicit funds into the stock market. It is also expected to facilitate quicker investigations into allegations of suspicious transactions, share manipulation and money laundering.
The commission said the investigation has been launched to maintain discipline in the capital market, safeguard investors' interests and uncover the true nature of any potential irregularities.
