The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday froze the beneficiary owner’s accounts of Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat and his business partner Hasan Taher Imam after an inspection team of the commission was denied entry to their brokerage house — Multi Securities and Services Limited.
The BSEC issued an order in this regard on the day, mentioning that the inspection team remained in the dark about ‘illegal or suspicious transactions’ between or among Multi Securities, Hasan Taher and Nafeez Sarafat or related party.
On Wednesday, the BSEC enquiry committee was not allowed to visit the Multi Securities office premises in violation of Securities and Exchange Ordinance 1969, BSEC officials said.
Hasan Taher and Nafeez Sarafat bought Multi Securities and Services allegedly through public money invested in mutual funds managed by their Race Asset Management Company at significant higher rates compared with the market prices, they said.
The BSEC enquiry committee attempted to visit the office of the brokerage firm to investigate the matter and other financial issues, BSEC officials said.
The BSEC also imposed several restrictions on Multi Securities and Services after the brokerage house denied the BSEC officials to access to important documents and the office premises.
According to the order, the BSEC had launched an enquiry into the affairs of Multi Securities and Services and its related individuals on July 4.
As part of the investigation, the BSEC’s enquiry committee attempted to visit the brokerage house on Wednesday.
The stock market regulator ordered suspension of Md Jalal Ekramul Kabir, chief executive officer of Multi Securities and Services.
In the order, the BSEC asked the country’s stock exchanges to take necessary steps in this regard immediately.
In January 2024, Nafeez Sarafat resigned Padma Bank as chairman, citing health reasons.
The Anti-Corruption Commission on August 16 launched an investigation into Nafeez Sarafat for allegedly taking over Padma Bank and misappropriating Tk 800 crore from the stock market.
