Khan Brothers Share Manipulation: BSEC Fines Three Men Tk 4.80 Crore in Total, Orders Payment Within 30 Days
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has fined three individuals a total of Tk 4.80 crore for manipulating the shares of Khan Brothers PP Woven Bag Industries Limited, a company listed on the stock market.
The commission took the punitive action in separate enforcement orders after its investigation and inquiry committee found specific evidence of violations of several sections of the Securities and Exchange Ordinance, 1969.
The three fined men are Md Nasir Uddin Akon of Gournadi in Barishal, Md Azad Hossain Patwari of Mugda in the capital, and Md Akter Hossain of the same area. Akon was fined Tk 1 crore, Patwari Tk 2 crore and Akter Hossain Tk 1.80 crore.
According to the commission's order, the accused used multiple BO accounts under their control to deliberately create an artificial impact on the share's price and trading. By buying and selling shares among themselves, they created an active and misleading picture of trading in the security on the market.
The order said shares were traded at prices far above the prevailing market rate to artificially inflate the price and mislead ordinary investors, and that series trading drove the price to an abnormal level. The investigation report found these activities violated sections 17(e)(ii), 17(e)(iii) and 17(e)(v) of the Securities and Exchange Ordinance.
At the commission's hearing, the accused described themselves as ordinary investors and sought unconditional forgiveness for unintentional mistakes. Finding their explanations unsatisfactory, the commission rejected them and imposed the fines under section 22 of the same ordinance.
BSEC executive director and spokesperson Md Abul Kalam said the commission acted under the law because the men had violated securities laws and harmed investors' interests.
According to the order, Md Akter Hossain used six BO accounts to trade 54,271 Khan Brothers shares between 12 December 2024 and 24 March 2025, making a realised capital gain of Tk 7,33,65,086 and an unrealised gain of Tk 64,74,000.
Md Azad Hossain Patwari traded 365,179 shares through seven BO accounts between 11 December 2024 and 24 March 2025, making a realised gain of Tk 8,21,03,310 and an unrealised gain of Tk 13,66,28,566.
Md Nasir Uddin Akon used nine BO accounts to trade 1,642,331 shares between 11 December 2024 and 20 March 2025, making a realised gain of Tk 4,22,25,433 and an unrealised gain of Tk 15,72,28,000.
The BSEC order requires each of the accused to deposit the fine with the commission by pay order or bank draft within 30 days of the order. Otherwise, further legal action will be taken against them under securities law.
