Stock Market Scam: 2 regulator men, wives to be sued

The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) is preparing to file cases against an SEC official and his wife, and another ex-official of ICB, his wife and brother-in-law for their involvement in recent share market scam.

The suspects are: Anwarul Kabir Bhuiyan, executive director of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and his wife Rukhsana Akhter, and Kafiluddin Ahmed Chowdhury, the then deputy general manager of Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB), his wife Farzana Akhter and brother-in-law Mansur Billa.

The anti-graft watchdog is moving to file the cases based on the evidence of irregularities it found against the suspects.

A three-member committee of ACC, led by its Assistant Director Akhter Hamid Bhuiyan, carried out the enquiry following instructions from the finance ministry as recommended by a stockmarket probe committee.

"The enquiry has revealed involvement of these people in the share marker manipulation and the cases will be filed completely based on those evidence," said Farrukh Ahmed, ACC director general (admin and establishment), in a monthly press conference at the commission's headquarters yesterday.

Farrukh Ahmed said the cases might be filed in a month. He, however, declined to disclose any findings of the enquiry.

On January 25 this year, Anwarul Kabir was made an officer on special duty (OSD) while Kafiluddin Ahmed the general manager of House Building Finance Corporation.

The stockmarket probe committee in its report said market regulator officials and their relatives made windfall profits from sharemarket by using power, which played a major role behind the debacle in the capital market.

The suspects engaged in share business although it was prohibited for them because of the conflict of interest, said the stockmarket probe report that was made public on April 30.

Anwarul Kabir violating an SEC circular, which he had signed prohibiting share business for its officials, bought shares worth around Tk 21 crore through his wife's four BO accounts between January 2009 and December 2010. During the time, shares worth Tk 19 crore were sold from these accounts with Al-Arafah Islami Bank, LankaBangla Securities, BLI Securities and NBL Securities, said the ACC report.

Operating four BO accounts in spouse's name and transacting big amounts under those are direct violation of the SEC circular. The stockmarket probe report recommended that the intelligence looked into the matter.

On the other hand, Kafiluddin Ahmed maintained two BO accounts -- a joint account with his wife and a dummy account in the name of his brother-in-law -- with IFIC Bank.

From these two accounts he withdrew more than Tk 3 crore in just two months and deposited it as FDR in NCC Bank, Exim Bank and Jamuna Bank.

Last month ACC filed 42 cases against 51 individuals including 13 government officials on charges of amassing wealth beyond known sources of income, concealing information in the wealth statement and forgery.

The accused government employees include Saleh Uddin, manager of Dhaka Power Distribution Company Ltd, Mominur Rahman, executive engineer of LGED, Dhaka and Kazi Monwarul Huq, former executive director of National Nutrition Project.

ACC also submitted 51 charge sheets last month against 93 people including 33 government employees, and served notices on 21 people including 10 government officials asking them to submit their wealth statement.

Source : The Daily Star 

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