Beximco Group and its associates allegedly pressurised several banks into investing in its Tk聽3,000 crore Sukuk bond, despite reluctance from the banks due to concerns over the project鈥檚 viability.
Former adviser to the ousted prime minister Sheikh Hasina, Salman F Rahman, also vice-president of Beximco Group, reportedly used his influence to push the investments.
Several senior bank officials claimed they were pressurised into investing large sums in the bond, despite reservations about the project鈥檚 risks.
Mutual Trust Bank managing director and CEO Syed Mahbubur Rahman said that they faced significant pressure, but managed to avoid investing, citing concerns about the lack of underlying assets and the high risk of not recovering their principal.
On July 8, 2021, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission approved Beximco鈥檚 plan to issue Tk聽3,000 crore in Shariah-compliant Sukuk.
The plan aimed to raise half the funds through private placement, Tk聽750 crore from existing shareholders, and Tk聽750 crore through an IPO.
However, the IPO fell short, raising only about Tk聽450 crore. The BSEC allowed the company to adjust the allocation between the IPO and private placement, leading to a shift in funding.
With the IPO underperforming, the private placement portion increased to Tk聽2,427 crore.
The stock market regulator extended the subscription period multiple times to ensure the Sukuk鈥檚 success.
Eventually, Beximco secured most of the funds from banks and institutional investors.
On September 27, 2021, the Bangladesh Bank authorised banks to invest the entire Tk聽200 crore of their special stock funds in Sukuk, including Beximco鈥檚 bond.
This intervention helped the Sukuk reach full subscription, although it diverted funds away from stocks, undermining the central bank鈥檚 original intention for the stock market support package.
Additionally, Salman鈥檚 newly formed real estate company, Sreepur Township Ltd (STL), issued a Tk聽1,000 crore bond called 鈥業FIC Amar Bond鈥�, marketed through bank branches in a misleading manner to attract general investors.
There were allegations that it campaigned as if IFIC Bank was the issuer of the bond.
Despite STL having no prior experience in real estate development, over 7,000 individuals invested in the bond, attracted by promises of a 12-per cent annual return.
Salman F Rahman and his son Ahmed Shayan Fazlur Rahman are shareholders in both STL and IFIC Bank.
IFIC acted as a guarantor for the bond 鈥� an unusual move, as zero-coupon bond issuers typically do not require such guarantees under debt securities rules.
