The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an investigation into the alleged covert and suspicious sale of restricted shares by NRB Commercial Bank founder ABM Abdul Mannan to three individuals closely linked to the bank鈥檚 leadership.
The shares reportedly tied to money laundering offenses.
The investigation follows a formal complaint lodged by several former sponsor-directors of NRBC Bank.
In response, the BSEC on Tuesday formed a three-member committee, led by additional director Muhammad Ziaur Rahman, to examine the allegations.
Mannan sold over 44.9 million shares through Dhaka Stock Exchange鈥檚 block market on October 31, 2023, at a rate of Tk听15.20 per share, amounting to nearly Tk听68 crore, according to the BSEC order.
These share transactions bypassed rules as they were not approved in board meetings, it said.
The shares have been acquired by Shafiqul Alam Mithun, a relative and business partner of NRBC Bank chairman SM Parvez Tamal, who purchased 16.5 million shares; Nadia Momin Imam, the wife of former executive committee chairman Mohammad Adnan Imam, who acquired 13.8 million shares; and Rehnuma Ahsan, daughter of former Mercantile Bank chairman Shahidul Ahsan, who bought 14.5 million shares, it said.
The shares were seizable and restricted for sale due to its link to money laundering offence as per Bangladesh Bank investigation in 2016, it said.
Questions have emerged about the sale of these shares and the identity of their beneficiaries, particularly since the founder, currently residing in the United States, was involved in earlier financial irregularities.
A Bangladesh Bank investigation revealed that Mannan acquired the shares through 鈥榟ighly suspicious鈥� financial transactions.
It found that Mannan did not personally finance the shares allocated in his name during the bank鈥檚 formation. Instead, funds were deposited into his account by another individual who also withdrew dividends on his behalf, raising doubts about the true ownership.
The investigation further disclosed that Shahidul Ahsan was the actual beneficiary of these shares.
Approximately $3.7 million was funneled into Mannan鈥檚 account from Dubai to acquire the shares, with additional irregularities in the operation of bank accounts opened in Mannan鈥檚 name while he was residing in the United States.
NRBC Bank was listed on the stock exchange on March 22, 2021.
Under BSEC rules, the founders and directors of listed companies are subject to a three-year lock-in period on their shares, starting from the date of listing.
Despite a three-year lock-in period on founder shares, effective until March 2024, BSEC conditionally approved the sale of Mannan鈥檚 restricted shares, sparking criticism over regulatory compliance and transparency.
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