Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has formed three committees to investigate alleged insider trading by two people and dematerialization of shares of another person.
Two committees will investigate insider trading by the wives of two directors of two listed private commercial banks (PCBs), while a panel will look into a complaint lodged by another listed PCB’s sponsor regarding dematerialization of his shares.
The committees have been asked to submit their reports to the commission in 30 workdays, officials said.
Although Afroza Islam Chowdhury, wife of Nurul Islam Chowdhury who is a director of United Commercial Bank Ltd (UCBL), was prohibited from transferring her stocks for a certain time, she transferred shares, according to the Dhaka Stock Exchange website. The DSE detected the case on February 28 this year.
Insider trading is a form of share transaction carried out for profit on the basis of price sensitive information that has not been disclosed in public.
SEC Director Prodip Kumar Basak will lead the probe committee against Afroza, while Deputy Director Muhammad Ziaur Rahman and Assistant Director Iqbal Hossain are the two other members in the body.
The SEC in a separate posting on the DSE website said Amena Begum, wife of Abdullah Al Ahsan who is a director of Dhaka Bank Limited, was also prohibited from transferring shares for a certain time. She also violated the prohibition and the DSE detected it on March 4, 2012.
Mahmoodul Hoque, director of the SEC, and Yusuf Bhuiyan, deputy director, will carry out the investigation into the alleged insider trading by Amena.
According to another DSE web posting, Abdus Salam, a sponsor of Dutch Bangla Bank Limited, has lodged a complaint in the commission regarding dematerialization of his shares.
A two-member panel led by SEC Director Sheikh Mahbub Ur Rahman will conduct an investigation into the matter. The other member of the committee is Abu Rayhan Mohammad Mutasim Billah, deputy director of the SEC.
BBN/SSR/AD-02April12-10:40 am (BST)
