Manipulators who turned Himadri into most expensive stock fined
FE REPORT | Friday, 5 July 2024
The stock market regulator has finally penalised one individual investor, and three firms with fines of Tk 17 million in total for manipulating Himadri's stock price.
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) also fined two other individual investors Tk 1.1 million for driving up the stocks of Regent Textile and Tung-Hai Knitting artificially on the bourses.
The BSEC slammed the fines upon completion of hearings following submission of investigation reports by the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE). The regulator's own investigation also corroborated the DSE findings.
The regulator disclosed the imposition of fines through its website on Thursday.
Md Rafiqul Islam Bari and his organisation M/SAR Traders will have to pay Tk 10 million for being involved in a series of transactions of shares of SME stock Himadri.
An investigation team of the BSEC collected trade data of Himadri between April 27 and August 28, 2023 and found that the stock price climbed 7,091 per cent during the time.
After examining the relevant documents, the probe body found that shares of Himadri had been exchanged between the BO account of Md Rafiqul Islam and BO accounts opened in the name of M/S Ovi Bricks, M/SAR Traders, and Munir Traders, creating an appearance of active trading.
The regulator fined M/S Ovi Bricks Tk 6 million, while Munir Traders was fined Tk 1 million for involvement in Himadri share price manipulation.
The little-known SME stock soared abnormally, hitting Tk 10,000 in November 2023, becoming the most expensive stock on the DSE.
Himadri's stock gradually declined and closed at Tk 2,079.6 on Thursday.