BD Thai sues share scam probe body
Monday, 25 April 2011
FE Report
Bangladesh Thai Aluminium sued the head of the stock scam probe body chief and its other members Sunday demanding deletion of a part of the probe report it says "falsely" accuses the firm of laundering money. BD Thai's legal affairs official Abdus Salam Mia filed the case at the Dhaka Second Assistant Judges Court, seeking its decree terming the probe report's specific section on the firm "false, motivated and ineffective." Judge Mohammad Aftabuzzaman ordered the defendants to inform the court that they received the court's order by June 12, petitioner's lawyer Khaled Ahmed told the FE. Ahmed said the probe body led by ex-central bank deputy governor Khondker Ibrahim Khaled has brought a "damaging' allegation against his client that it helped Gem Global launder Tk 150 million through Citibank NA. "This false allegation shattered the image of Bangladesh Thai Aluminium. We have filed a case seeking deletion of the probe report's section on the company," Ahmed told the FE. He said the company has mainly filed the case against the four-member probe body which also includes banking expert Toufic Ahmad Chowdhury, chartered accountant Mohammad Abdul Bari and legal expert Nihat Kabir. The four-member body submitted the probe report to the finance minister earlier this month, mainly blaming the Securities and Exchange Commission for the recent stock market crash. The SEC, the Bangladesh Bank's Foreign Trade Control Division, the Bangladesh office of Citibank N.A and Dhaka Stock Exchange have been named as the "proforma defendants" in the case, Ahmed said. "We have sought testimonies of the four institutions regarding the case. We have been made scapegoat of the share scam by the committee and we seek to know the four organisations' stand on the section of the probe report on us," he said. In the petition, BD Thai said it sold its shares to Cayman Island-registered foreign investor Gem Global as per the country's securities laws. Gem then sold the shares at a high price in the capital market. "Gem Global repatriated its Tk150 million profit in line with the country's securities and foreign exchange laws. There was no foul play committed either by Gem Global or BD Thai," Ahmed said. When asked whether his client can file a case as the report is yet to be published officially, Ahmed said, "The government either can publish the report or can keep it unpublished. We have filed the case based on the comments made by head of the probe committee chief." "Mr. Ibrahim Khaled had disclosed findings of the report including the part on the company to the media before the finance ministry made it public. It's entirely unethical and unjust," he said. "He told ATN News that BD Thai helped launder Tk150 million. This false accusation has damaged the reputation of the company," he added. Separately, he said the company has served legal notice on the ex Bangladesh Bank deputy governor seeking damages worth Tk 1.0 billion for defaming the company's goodwill. "The charges Mr. Ibrahim laid against BD Thai already affected the company's good reputation. We served the defamation notice because of the damages he caused to the company," he added. Probe committee chief Khondker Ibrahim Khaled, who is also the chairman of state-owned Bangladesh Krishi Bank, refused to comment on the case filed by BD Thai. His only comments to the FE were "Please don't ask me anything and save the country." BDnews24.com adds: The case details said the four main suspects had submitted the report by not scrutinising the SEC and Bangladesh Bank approvals and also not taking statements of the complainant. According to Ibrahim Khaled, the bonds issued to Gem Global were supposed to be under lock-in for sales. But Gem Global offloaded those illegally. But, the plaintiff said, "Those claims are wrong since the aluminium company issued freely convertible shares and shares against warrants. "And all these things took place with the authorisation from the Bangladesh Bank's Foreign Trade Control Division and the SEC." The plaintiff suggested that the whole matter be investigated by detective police.
Bangladesh Thai Aluminium sued the head of the stock scam probe body chief and its other members Sunday demanding deletion of a part of the probe report it says "falsely" accuses the firm of laundering money. BD Thai's legal affairs official Abdus Salam Mia filed the case at the Dhaka Second Assistant Judges Court, seeking its decree terming the probe report's specific section on the firm "false, motivated and ineffective." Judge Mohammad Aftabuzzaman ordered the defendants to inform the court that they received the court's order by June 12, petitioner's lawyer Khaled Ahmed told the FE. Ahmed said the probe body led by ex-central bank deputy governor Khondker Ibrahim Khaled has brought a "damaging' allegation against his client that it helped Gem Global launder Tk 150 million through Citibank NA. "This false allegation shattered the image of Bangladesh Thai Aluminium. We have filed a case seeking deletion of the probe report's section on the company," Ahmed told the FE. He said the company has mainly filed the case against the four-member probe body which also includes banking expert Toufic Ahmad Chowdhury, chartered accountant Mohammad Abdul Bari and legal expert Nihat Kabir. The four-member body submitted the probe report to the finance minister earlier this month, mainly blaming the Securities and Exchange Commission for the recent stock market crash. The SEC, the Bangladesh Bank's Foreign Trade Control Division, the Bangladesh office of Citibank N.A and Dhaka Stock Exchange have been named as the "proforma defendants" in the case, Ahmed said. "We have sought testimonies of the four institutions regarding the case. We have been made scapegoat of the share scam by the committee and we seek to know the four organisations' stand on the section of the probe report on us," he said. In the petition, BD Thai said it sold its shares to Cayman Island-registered foreign investor Gem Global as per the country's securities laws. Gem then sold the shares at a high price in the capital market. "Gem Global repatriated its Tk150 million profit in line with the country's securities and foreign exchange laws. There was no foul play committed either by Gem Global or BD Thai," Ahmed said. When asked whether his client can file a case as the report is yet to be published officially, Ahmed said, "The government either can publish the report or can keep it unpublished. We have filed the case based on the comments made by head of the probe committee chief." "Mr. Ibrahim Khaled had disclosed findings of the report including the part on the company to the media before the finance ministry made it public. It's entirely unethical and unjust," he said. "He told ATN News that BD Thai helped launder Tk150 million. This false accusation has damaged the reputation of the company," he added. Separately, he said the company has served legal notice on the ex Bangladesh Bank deputy governor seeking damages worth Tk 1.0 billion for defaming the company's goodwill. "The charges Mr. Ibrahim laid against BD Thai already affected the company's good reputation. We served the defamation notice because of the damages he caused to the company," he added. Probe committee chief Khondker Ibrahim Khaled, who is also the chairman of state-owned Bangladesh Krishi Bank, refused to comment on the case filed by BD Thai. His only comments to the FE were "Please don't ask me anything and save the country." BDnews24.com adds: The case details said the four main suspects had submitted the report by not scrutinising the SEC and Bangladesh Bank approvals and also not taking statements of the complainant. According to Ibrahim Khaled, the bonds issued to Gem Global were supposed to be under lock-in for sales. But Gem Global offloaded those illegally. But, the plaintiff said, "Those claims are wrong since the aluminium company issued freely convertible shares and shares against warrants. "And all these things took place with the authorisation from the Bangladesh Bank's Foreign Trade Control Division and the SEC." The plaintiff suggested that the whole matter be investigated by detective police.