A large number of shares have been sold from a BO (Beneficiary Owners) account that was closed in 2016. The Securities and Exchange Commission of Bangladesh (BSEC), the regulator of the capital market, has sought an explanation from the concerned brokerage house.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
According to BSEC sources, shares of three companies worth Tk 12.56 crore were sold on Wednesday from a BO account held at BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage House, a subsidiary of BRAC Bank. Shares of these three companies again have a big impact on the index. The three companies are Grameenphone, Square Pharma and British American Tobacco Bangladesh Company or BATBC. Later, BSEC collected information about the BO account from Central Depository Bangladesh Limited or CDBL. CDBL informed BSEC that the BO account was closed in June 2016. Officials at the regulatory body have questioned how a large number of shares were sold from the closed BO. For this reason, an explanation has been sought from BRAC EPL.
In this regard, BSEC Executive Director and Spokesperson Mohammad Rezaul Karim said, “We have found out in the preliminary investigation, about 12 crore shares have been sold from the closed BO account. The companies whose shares have been sold play a major role in the rise and fall of the index in the stock market. Explanations and evidence have been sought from all parties concerned on how the shares were sold from the closed BO. After receiving the evidence, further action will be taken in this regard.
BSEC sources said that the BO account that has been questioned is the BO account of foreign investors. The multinational bank HSBC is the custodian of the shares held as BO. Therefore, HSBC has also been asked to explain in this regard.
When asked, Ahsanur Rahman, CEO of BRAC EPL Stock Brokerage, told Prothom Alo, “I have not received any such letter.”
Meanwhile, the main index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) DSEX fell 64 points or more than 1 percent to 6,592 points. Most of the shares traded fell today.
