BSEC sends 17 officials into forced retirement over 2025 protest

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has sent 17 officials into forced retirement and reduced the pay of five others following disciplinary proceedings over the confinement of the regulator's then chairman and commissioners during a protest on 5 March 2025.

The decisions were taken on 18 August, according to multiple BSEC officials.

It is the first time since BSEC's establishment that such a large number of officials have been sent into compulsory retirement at once. The action followed government instructions, BSEC sources said.

The government had instructed BSEC to take disciplinary action against 23 officials over the 5 March incident. The commission acted against 22 of them, while no further action was taken against the remaining official, who had already been dismissed over a separate allegation.

Those sent into compulsory retirement include Executive Director Rezaul Karim; Directors Abul Hasan and Mohammad Fakhrul Islam Majumder; Additional Directors Nazrul Islam and Molla Md Miraz Us Sunnah; Joint Director Rashedul Alam.

Also on the list are Deputy Directors Md Nannu Bhuiyan, Kazi Md Al-Islam, Shahidul Islam, Bani Yamin Khan and Touhid Hasan; Assistant Directors Aminul Haque Khan, Abdul Baten and Sazzad Hossain; and Personal Officers Abu Yusuf, Kawsar Pasha Brishti and Samir Ghosh.

Five others – Assistant Directors Johnny Hossain, Raihan Kabir, Tariqul Islam and Maksud Mila, and Librarian Selim Reza Bappi – had their pay reduced to the lowest level of their respective grades.

What happened in March 2025

The disciplinary action stems from a protest on 5 March last year, when then BSEC Chairman Khondoker Rashed Maqsood and other commissioners were confined inside the regulator's office for more than four hours following the forced retirement of then Executive Director Saifur Rahman.

Protesting officials raised various demands and allegations against the commission and later observed a work stoppage, triggering several days of unrest. The chairman and commissioners were eventually rescued after the army intervened.

A case was filed with Sher-e-Bangla Nagar Police Station on 6 March 2025 by Ashiqur Rahman, the gunman assigned to the then BSEC chairman's security, naming 16 officials.

According to the criminal case statement, a commission meeting chaired by Maqsood was underway when a group of officials and employees allegedly entered the meeting room and confined the chairman and commissioners. The complaint also alleged that the office's main gate was locked and CCTV cameras, Wi-Fi, lifts and electricity were shut down.

Alongside the criminal case, the finance ministry conducted an investigation, and based on its findings, instructed BSEC to take disciplinary action against 23 officials.

Questions over legal basis

The disciplinary action has raised questions over which provision of the BSEC Employees Service Rules, 2021 was invoked to punish the officials.

People familiar with the matter said many of the 17 officials had not completed 25 years of service. Government service rules allow officials to be sent into compulsory retirement after completing 25 years of service.

However, they noted that the 25-year requirement applies to retirement in the public interest, while compulsory retirement as a disciplinary penalty may be governed by a separate provision.

One official sent into compulsory retirement, speaking on condition of anonymity, said he was unaware of the grounds for the decision and denied committing any offence warranting such punishment. He said he would challenge the decision legally.

Officials question severity of disciplinary action

Several people familiar with the incident said most BSEC officials and employees were present at the office during the protest, but only some were named in the criminal case. They questioned whether imposing severe penalties on the selected officials was proportionate to their alleged involvement.

The protest followed growing dissatisfaction with the then commission among employees, investors and other market stakeholders. In February 2025, investors publicly demanded Maqsood's resignation, while BSEC employees called for the resignation of the entire commission during the March protest.

The stock market had also experienced a prolonged downturn during the Maqsood-led commission's tenure. The DSEX index fell from above 6,000 points to 4,802 on 7 May, while average daily turnover declined from more than Tk800 crore to around Tk300 crore. Market capitalisation fell by around Tk78,000 crore, according to stock exchange data.

The commission, however, had also taken steps to strengthen investigations into market irregularities and alleged corruption. On the day of the protest, Maqsood said committees formed to investigate irregularities during the previous government had submitted seven reports and action was being taken based on their findings.

The 5 March incident came amid mounting tensions between the commission and BSEC employees, investors and other stakeholders.

The compulsory retirement of 17 officials at once is unprecedented in BSEC's history. The disciplinary action, taken around 18 months after the incident, marks a major step in concluding the investigation and departmental proceedings, but questions over the legal basis and proportionality of the punishments are likely to persist.