Premier Bank IPO Scam
SEC sends back probe report to enforcement body to recheck
UNB, Dhaka
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday sent back the probe report on Premier Bank IPO scam to its enforcement committee to recheck the violations with the legal provisions in the Depository Act 1999 before taking action. "The committee will examine the irregularities committed in the process of opening Beneficiary Owners' (BO) accounts and will ensure who were involved in the process," SEC chairman Dr Mirza Azizul Islam told reporters following a Board meeting of the regulatory authority."SEC will soon take action against the irregularities upon the recommendations by the enforcement committee," he said, as the Board meeting discussed the findings of the probe report submitted to the Commission on March 29. The probe body detected irregularities in the process of opening BO accounts aiming to grab major chunk of shares from the bank's primary offerings. Public subscription to the IPO remained suspended following the alleged scam. Meanwhile, Bangladesh Bank has already sacked Premier Bank Managing Director Kazi Abdul Mazid for one year for his involvement in the process of opening fake bank accounts to facilitate opening the BO accounts. Mazid, however, appealed to the central bank Board to reconsider the action against him. Bangladesh Bank is also conducting investigations on 14 branches of Premier Bank with which the fake bank accounts were opened. The SEC Board meeting also rejected a proposal for licensing a credit rating agency considering it as unnecessary for a small capital market in the country. "The existing two (credit rating agency) is enough for this market," Dr Aziz said, explaining the reason for rejecting license to KP Rahman Credit Rating and Risk Management Limited. He said Pakistan and Sri Lanka having larger capital market as compared to Bangladesh also have only two such agencies. Credit Rating Information Services Limited and Credit Rating Agency Bangladesh Limited are now in operation in the country, he said.
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