BSEC fines 14 investors including PK Halder, 2 firms for manipulating stock prices
BSEC also decided to impose a Tk2 lakh fine on brokerage firm Bali Securities as it violated securities rules
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) decided to fine 14 investors, including fugitive financial scammer P K Halder, and two companies for manipulating the prices of Information Services Network (ISN) and Northern Jute stocks.
In a statement after its 758th commission meeting, the BSEC said investors James Martin Das, Dr AZM Murshid, Md Nurul Islam Kamran, and Monjila Nasrin Islam manipulated the price of ISN's shares.
Among them, James Martin Das will have to pay a fine of Tk2 lakh.
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In 2020, ISN's share price doubled in three months and then returned to the price level from which its artificial rally had begun. The same price behaviour of ISN shares was observed in late 2018.
Meanwhile, the price of Northern Jute shares rose from around Tk300 each to nearly Tk1,500 within four months at the end of 2018. Now, the stock price again came down to below Tk350 per share.
Parimal Chandra Paul and his associates – namely Ripon Sheikh, Mallik Abu Bakkar, Tofazzal Hossain, Bidhan Mistry, Amal Krishna Das; Salek Ahmed Siddiqui and his associate Monir Hossain; Samir Ranjan Paul and his associates Shiuli Paul and Chitta Haran Datt; plus Amanat Ullah and his associates Setara Begum, Sahdip Corporation, Sandwip Corporation, Hull Industries, and P K Halder – were found to have been engaged in manipulating the stock price of Northern Jute Manufacturing.
They violated the securities law through series trading in order to artificially influence the stock price.
Of them, Amanat Ullah will have to pay the largest fine of Tk1 crore. Hull Industries will have to pay Tk85 lakh, Sandwip Corporation Tk60 lakh, Shiuli Paul Tk50 lakh, and Tofazzal Hossain Tk40 lakh.
At the same commission meeting, headed by BSEC Chairman Professor Shibli Rubayat-Ul-Islam, BSEC also decided to impose a Tk2 lakh fine on brokerage firm Bali Securities as it violated relevant securities rules.
The member firm of the Dhaka Stock Exchange violated rules related to margin lending and also ran deficits in its consolidated customer account.
