An investigation by the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has uncovered the involvement of some Investment Corporation of Bangladesh (ICB) employees in the 2021-22 scam involving Fortune Shoes Limited shares.
Controversial stock investor Md Abul Khayer alias Hiru and his associates were also implicated in the manipulation.
In its 972nd meeting on Tuesday, the regulator decided to send its investigation report to the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Financial Institutions Division (FID) of the Ministry of Finance, seeking their actions, as ICB officials and Abul Khayer Hiru are government employees.
Fortune Shoes shares had skyrocketed to Tk 145 in March 2022, up from Tk 16 apiece in April 2021. The manipulators, in collusion with some ICB officials, managed to sell a significant portion of their shares to the state-owned investment firm during the market peak, according to BSEC officials.
The scam caused over Tk 40 crore in financial losses for ICB, as the share price has now dropped back to around Tk 16.
Alongside financial penalties, BSEC itself sues capital market criminals. However, for the ICB officials and Hiru, the regulator is passing the responsibility to the relevant authorities.
