FE Reporting (June 20, 2011)
The securities regulator has completed bulk of its investigation into the recent stock market crash, but it has no plan to disclose the outcome before the end of the probe deadline, its chief said Sunday.
M. Khairul Hossain, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said the regulator was "seriously" conducting probe into the misdeeds, blamed for the December-January stock debacle that gutted thousands of small investors.
But he said the result of the probe would not come out before the end of August --- a deadline imposed by the Ministry of Finance --- as new revelations of the alleged foul-plays may affect the fragile recovery at the stock market.
The MoF ordered the regulator to carry out a separate investigation into the debacle late last month, after a government-appointed probe committee pin-pointed 14 types of irregularities behind the crash.
"We have completed the greater part of our investigation," Mr. Hossain told the FE. "But we won't disclose the findings because we don't want to do anything that could affect the market."
According to the finance ministry directives, the SEC must complete probe into eight types of misdeeds by end of June and the rest six before the expiry of the deadline in late August.
"We are continuing our efforts to comply with the directives of the Finance Ministry," he said, adding the SEC was conducting the probe "seriously".
The 14 alleged irregularities, which were referred to the SEC for further probes include serial trading, share manipulation by firms and individuals and state of affairs concerning 100 overvalued companies.
The eight types of wrongdoings on which SEC would finish investigation by end of June include investigation on 'shadow accounts' --- better known as 'omnibus' accounts - which was used by rogue traders to tank the market.
However, the SEC has got bigger time-span -- three months -- to probe 'large-scale" irregularities such as suspected manipulations concerning the share prices of 17 listed companies.
Top firms under the SEC radar are: BD Thai Aluminum and JEM Global, Khulna Power, GMG Airlines, Bangladesh Welding Electrodes, CMC Kamal Textile, Meghna Cement, Malek Spinning, Mobil Jamuna Lubricants, Barakatullah Electro Dynamics, Salvo Chemical, United Airways, Beacon Pharmaceuticals, MI Cement and Fu-Wang Ceramics.
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