A special tribunal, constituted in January and a judge appointed as its chief in the following month in 2014 to facilitate speedy trial of the stock market-related cases, is yet to start its function formally. Surprise, surprise!
Usually, the public entities, including regulatory bodies, are found to be slow in accomplishing their designated tasks.
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), the securities regulator, which is mandated to constitute the special tribunal in question in accordance with an amendment made to the relevant law in late 2012, has been no exception.
It has yet again confirmed the widespread allegation about the public entities. In fact the regulator has gone beyond that.
When the tribunal got its judge it had no accommodation of its own.
The tribunal was created by the government as part of the capital market reforms suggested by the Manila-based multilateral donor, the Asian Development Bank (ADB).
The reform measures are being implemented by the government with resources coming from the $300 million Second Capital Market Development Programme approved by the ADB in late 2012. Â
The BSEC reportedly hired a space, measuring more than 3000 square feet, on the 9th floor of the House Building Finance Corporation (HBFC) at Purana Paltan of the city on July 13, 2014, according to a report published in this paper last Tuesday. The monthly rent of the space was fixed at Tk. 142,000. Â
The space rented for the capital market tribunal, compared to the same available with other government tribunals, administrative or otherwise, is quite large. However, most other tribunals do not have enough space and that remains a serious problem for their smooth operation.
Maybe, the BSEC has decided to ensure a better environment for the tribunal that would specially handle the capital market-related cases. But the delay in starting the operations of the tribunal, naturally, has raised suspicion in the minds of sceptics. The question they are asking is: Is the delay deliberate?
A high BSEC official has blamed the tough public procurement rules for the delay in the purchase of equipment and other logistics for the tribunal. However, not many people are ready to accept the reason cited.
Given the past experiences as far as the government's response to all sorts of stock market manipulations, including the major ones of 1996 and 2010, one has valid grounds to be suspicious about the independent handling of irregularities involving the stock market operations by the tribunal.
Investors, who did burn their fingers in both 1996 and 2010 stock market collapses, would want the cases against the suspected manipulators be reopened in the special tribunal. The probe body had identified quite a number of high-profile manipulators in the 1996 scam and cases had been started against them. But for the reported non-availability of evidence, the cases were not pursued.
The 2010 scam, compared to the previous one, was meticulously planned and executed with due precision. The masterminds did not make any crude approach. They had made the best use of the loopholes in the stock market-related laws, rules and guidelines. So, it was difficult to identify the major behind-the-scene players.
It is also difficult to say whether the major scams of the recent past would ever be reopened in the tribunal since the suspected manipulators are very influential, both politically and financially. They are likely to resist tooth and nail such a move.
However, getting hold of the master manipulators would have been possible had the authorities booked the mid-level operators and squeezed out information out of them. But that is unlikely to happen.
But, at least, for the greater interest of the market and benefit of the investors the cases, involving other irregularities in stock trading and fraudulent activities on the part of the listed companies, at times, with the help of audit firms, need to be heard by the special tribunal and the persons/ companies responsible punished adequately.
A special tribunal for capital market cases has been a long-felt need. The traditional courts take least interest in disposing of the finance and stock market-related cases. There is a serious dearth of both competent lawyers and judges to handle such cases. Thus, the indifference has given rise to stockpiling of capital market-related cases in various courts. The number of such cases is now estimated at around 500.
How far the tribunal will be able to handle such a large number of cases remains to be seen. If the tribunal does its job with right kind of seriousness, it would make a giant step forward in restoring the confidence of the investors.
But if the constitution of the tribunal was just to meet the reform pressed by the ADB, it is not that difficult to understand the ultimate outcome. There has to be full official commitment towards achieving the objective/s behind the formation of the tribunal. Â
   zahidmar10@gmail.com
Are public procurement rules so difficult to comply with?
Shamsul Huq Zahid | Published: February 18, 2015 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2024 06:01:00
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