Investigation Report Delayed in Share Market Manipulation Case

The submission of an investigation report in a case involving alleged share market manipulation and money laundering amounting to more than Tk 2.56 billion has been deferred, with former Bangladesh national cricket team captain and former parliamentarian Shakib Al Hasan among 15 accused.

The Dhaka court has fixed 23 September as the new date for submitting the investigation report after the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) failed to file it on the previously scheduled date.

Judge Mohammad Shahjahan Kabir of the Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge and Senior Special Judge’s Court set the new date on Monday, 27 July. The investigation report had been scheduled to be submitted on the same day, but the ACC could not complete the process within the stipulated timeframe. Aminul Islam, public prosecutor and director of the ACC’s prosecution division, confirmed the adjournment.

The case was filed on 17 May last year by ACC headquarters Assistant Director Sazzad Hossain. It centres on allegations of organised manipulation of selected shares, fraudulent trading practices, and the subsequent movement and concealment of proceeds allegedly generated through those activities.

The other accused include Abul Khayer, deputy registrar of the Department of Cooperatives; his wife, Kazi Sadia Hasan; Abul Kalam Madbar; Kanika Afroz; Mohammad Bashar; Sajed Madbar; Aleya Begum; Kazi Fuad Hasan; Kazi Farid Hasan; Javed A Matin; Zahed Kamal; Humayun Kabir; and Tanvir Nizam.

According to the case statement, the accused allegedly formed an organised group and carried out a series of transactions through beneficial owners’ (BO) accounts linked to their interests. The transactions are alleged to have involved speculative, deceptive and artificial trading designed to influence share prices.

The allegations state that the group repeatedly bought and sold selected shares to artificially inflate their prices, creating an impression of strong market demand. Ordinary investors were then allegedly encouraged to invest in those shares, exposing them to substantial financial losses when the artificially supported prices failed to hold.

The case statement alleges that the group misappropriated more than Tk 256 crore 97 lakh 70 thousand 304 through such activities. The money was allegedly presented as abnormal capital gains, although investigators claim it was actually proceeds derived from criminal activities.

The allegations also include suspected money laundering. According to the case, Mohammad Abul Khayer Hiru allegedly transferred Tk 29 crore 94 lakh 42 thousand 185, withdrawn from the share market, to different sectors with the assistance of his wife, Kazi Sadia Hasan, in an attempt to launder the funds.

The case statement further alleges that 17 bank accounts held in Hiru’s name recorded abnormal, unjustified and suspicious transactions totalling Tk 542 crore 31 lakh 51 thousand 982.

Shakib Al Hasan’s name appears in the case in connection with investments in Paramount Insurance Ltd, Crystal Insurance Ltd and Sonali Papers Ltd, shares allegedly manipulated by Hiru. The allegations claim that Shakib actively participated in the alleged market manipulation and, by encouraging ordinary investors to invest in the manipulated shares, withdrew Tk 2 crore 95 lakh 2 thousand 915 from the share market as realised capital gains. The case alleges that the amount constituted proceeds of crime and was subsequently misappropriated.

The latest postponement means the investigation will continue until the newly scheduled date. The court’s decision to allow more time for the report does not, by itself, establish the guilt of any of the accused. The allegations will have to be examined through the legal process, and the accused will have the opportunity to respond to the charges in accordance with the law.

The case highlights broader concerns surrounding market manipulation, suspicious financial transactions and the protection of ordinary investors in Bangladesh’s capital market. If proven, such practices could undermine investor confidence and distort the normal functioning of the market by creating artificial price movements that do not reflect genuine demand or the underlying value of listed securities.