Probing stock scam ’99

Badal defrauded bank with fake shares

Staff Reporter

Latif Securities, a stock broker, has taken loans of Tk 89 lakhs depositing fake shares, an investigation reveals.

“Lutfar Rahman Badal, former chairman of IFIC Bank and managing director Latif Securities in connivance with top officials of Pubali Bank Limited, got the loan sanctioned from the Motijheel foreign exchange branch of the bank,” a competent source of Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), told the New Nation on Wednesday.    The source said Badal had taken loans of Tk of Tk 89 lakhs under two accounts number  on December 30, 1999 against 11,100 issues of Megna Cement and 480 issues of Confidence Cement-all of which proved to be fake.

The market value of the share was Tk 29.99 lakh.

Sheikh Moyazzem Hossain, general manager and Md Mahbubur Rahman, principal officer were also accused of helping Badal to get the loans.

Meanwhile, probe committee formed to investigate recent share scam interrogated officials of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) about the recent share market plunge.

Members of the board of directors of the DSE gave their views at the meeting held at Bangladesh Krishi Bank headquarters in the capital on Tuesday.

After the meeting, DSE chief Shakil Rizvi told reporters: “We’ve explained the investigation committee how share prices go up and down, how an overvalued share comes to the market and goes to the OTC market after its prices fall.”

This was the maiden meeting of the probe committee with the DSE.

Khandker Ibrahim Khalid, the chief of the bank and the committee, said, “We’ve heard what happened and how such things could be prevented. They were free to opine.”

The committee will sit with other stakeholders in phases.

Rizvi said the committee asked them to inform about anything they want to expose namelessly or pseudonymously.

Committee member Toufiq Ahmad Choudhury, DSE vice-president Nasir Uddin Ahmed Chowdhury, chief executive officer Satipati Moitra and former president Rakibur Rahman, among others, attended the meeting.

The other member of the probe committee, Mohamed Abdul Bari, was not present at the time.

The government formed the three-member committee on Jan 25 to investigate the recent share market crash that triggered violent protests by small investors.

The committee was asked to submit its report within the next two months.

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Source: The New Nation - Independent Daily