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No share scam case in spl tribunal now for trial

Mohammad Mufazzal | July 15, 2016 00:00:00


The special tribunal on capital market has been sitting idle since May last as there is no case for trial.

The tribunal sources said a total of 24 cases, including some cases related to the 1996 stock market scam, were transferred to the special tribunal for trial.

After completing trial, the tribunal delivered verdicts of six cases while the High Court (HC) stayed the proceedings of 16 cases filed against some top businesses.

The remaining two cases were returned to the previous lower courts as trial of such cases was out of jurisdiction for the special tribunal.

But none of the capital market related cases, which are in the upper court, is yet to be transferred to the tribunal.

Meanwhile, judge of the special tribunal Humayun Kabir joined as district and sessions judge of Rangpur on July 12.

Md. Akbar Ali Sheikh, who was a special judge of Comilla, joined the special tribunal on capital market on Thursday.

"Some 12 capital market-related cases are in the upper court. A few cases are also in the district and chief metropolitan magistrate courts," said advocate Masud Rana Khan, a lawyer of the securities regulator.

Asked about the move of bringing the cases back to the tribunal, advocate Rana said the regulator is working in this regard.

On the other hand, the tribunal sources said the securities regulator seemed not to be serious in bringing the cases back to the tribunal.

During the hearing of some cases, immediate past judge Humayum Kabir earlier expressed dissatisfaction over lack of regulatory support in completing the trial.  

A Salam Sikder, a commissioner of the securities regulator, said their lawyer concerned mentions the cases in the upper court on regular basis.

"But the cases are not included in the list of hearing. That's why no case is yet to be transferred to the tribunal on capital market," Mr. Sikder said.

He said certificate cases, filed with the judge court, are out of jurisdiction of the special tribunal.

"That's why such cases will not be transferred to the tribunal. In future, the tribunal may get fresh cases if violation of securities rules occurs," the commissioner said.    

Previous judge Humayun Kabir settled six cases out of 24 cases on completion of trial.

On August 3, 2015, the tribunal in its maiden verdict jailed Mahbub Sarwar for two years after he was found guilty of manipulating stock prices through social networking sites in 2010.

On August 31, 2015, the tribunal sentenced two directors of Chic Tex Limited to four years' jail in a 1996 stock market scam-related case.

On August 17, 2015, the tribunal handed down SM Nurul Islam, managing director of BD Welding, and Enayet Karim, editor of Weekly Industry, three years' imprisonment as they were found guilty of manipulating stock prices of BD Welding Electrodes.

On October 27, 2015, the tribunal acquitted Sattaruzzaman Shamim, the prime accused of a case of illegal business of placement share as his involvement with the crime was not proved. In the same case, Nabiullah Nabi, who died before starting the trial, was also acquitted.

On November 30, 2015, the former managing director of the Saudi-Bangladesh Industrial and Agricultural Investment Company (SABINCO) was acquitted in a share scam case.

On April 20, 2016, the tribunal awarded two-year jail term to the chairman of Securities and Exchange Promotion Management, a brokerage firm, and one of its clients. Both the accused were fugitive before the trial started in the tribunal.

Earlier in late 2012, the Securities and Exchange Ordinance (SOE), 1969 was amended in the parliament empowering the government to set up special tribunal(s).

Setting up of a special tribunal was a long-standing demand of the stakeholders to deal with capital market-related cases.

On January 02, 2014, the government set up the special tribunal through a gazette notification under the Securities and Exchange Ordinance (SEO)-1969 aiming to quickly dispose of the cases relating to the stock market.

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