The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission has formed a committee to investigate alleged irregularities in Strategic Equity Management Ltd, owned by controversial businessman Chowdhury Nafeez Sarafat and his family members.
The stock market regulatory body issued an order on Tuesday announcing the formation of the three-member investigation committee.
BSEC additional director Mohammad Amdadul Hoque will head the committee, and deputy director Md Rafiqunnabi and assistant director Mohammed Abu Hena Mostafa will work as members.
The order said that the committee would submit its investigation report within 60 days from the date of issuance of the order.
It said that the panel would examine whether the investments of 鈥楢lternative Investment Fund of Bangladesh鈥�, since inception to the present date were in compliance with the investment parameters of Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (Alternative Investment) Rules, 2015 and constitutive documents.
The 鈥楢lternative Investment Fund of Bangladesh鈥� is managed by the SEML.
The committee will gather and examine valid evidence against all investment of the fund.
It will also review conflicts of interest that arise from investment with a connected person of the fund manager and the trustee.
Among other issues, the committee will also will also collect all official bank statements of the fund from the inspection date to the present date and confirm balance at the end of accounting years.
The Alternative Investment Fund of Bangladesh, which is a Private Equity Fund, was registered in November 22, 2015. The trustee of the fund is the Premier Bank.
The SEML was incorporated in 2007 and got the asset management company licence from the BSEC in 2013.
Nafeez Sarafat, former chairman of Padma Bank, reportedly drained Tk 245 crore from the bank to the asset management company.
Earlier on August 15, the Anti-Corruption Commission started an inquiry against the former Padma Bank chairman over embezzlement of about Tk聽800 crore from the bank and the share market.