BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) on 11 May formed a probe committee to investigate the securities law violation by the controversial stock investor Abul Khayer Hero and his allies in trading Safko Spinning Mills shares.

The two-member BSEC committee is set to submit its report in 30 working days.

It began with a recent surveillance report by the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) finding Abul Khayer Hero and his allies' wrongdoings in Safko Spinning shares.

Abul Khayer and his allies including Md Sajib Hossain and Kazi Farid Hasan acquired more than 10% shares of Safko without complying with securities rules, according to the DSE surveillance.

Besides, the allies – Sajib Hossain, Md Abdul Quddus Amin, Md Suleman, and another individual investor named Nurunnesa Saki – were found to have executed a trade that created the false and misleading appearance of active trading of the securities, which is a part of an act to artificially influence the market price.

Abul Khayer did not respond to phone calls from TBS for a comment.

The Dhaka bourse, in recent months, submitted several surveillance reports to the BSEC finding violations of securities law by a number of market players, including Abul Khayer and his allies.

Abul Khayer, a first-class government official popularly known as Hero, is widely alleged to have been engaged in market manipulation since the beginning of the pandemic.

Prices of Safko Spinning shares soared by over 300% in five months since April 2021, despite the fact that the company has been struggling in business.