The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has imposed a fine of Tk 135 crore on 18 individuals and institutions for manipulating shares of three publicly listed companies. The decision was made during a BSEC meeting on Tuesday, as confirmed in an official press release.

The fines were issued over share manipulation involving Bangladesh Finance Limited (BD Finance), Orion Pharma, and Orion Infusion. These manipulations occurred between 2020 and 2022, leading to abnormal price hikes and substantial profits for the perpetrators.

According to BSEC, nine individuals and institutions involved in BD Finance share manipulation were fined Tk 70.57 crore. The highest penalty of Tk 32.25 crore was imposed on Samir Sekander, followed by Tk 22 crore on Abu Sadat Md. Sayem and Tk 7.5 crore on Anika Farhin. Other penalized entities include Anwar Galvanizing (Tk 7.1 crore), City General Insurance (Tk 85 lakh), Maher Sekander (Tk 52 lakh), Afra Chowdhury (Tk 35 lakh), and Abdul Mubin Mollah (Tk 10 lakh). The incidents spanned from August 2020 to September 2021.

For Orion Pharma, one individual and one institution were fined Tk 3.4 crore for illegal share manipulation between September 21 and October 14, 2021. Aminul Islam was fined Tk 3.2 crore, while Nabil Feed Mills faced a Tk 20 lakh penalty.

Similarly, seven individuals and institutions were fined Tk 61.2 crore for manipulating Orion Infusion shares between June 21 and October 12, 2022. The highest penalty of Tk 18.4 crore was imposed on Sohel Alam, followed by Tk 14.6 crore on Ekhlasur Rahman and Tk 13.15 crore on Beacon Pharma’s Managing Director, Md. Ebadul Karim. Others fined include Rishana Karim (Tk 6 crore), Beacon Medicare (Tk 5.5 crore), Beacon Pharma (Tk 3.5 crore), and Nurun Nahar Karim (Tk 10 lakh).

The BSEC stated that these penalties aim to curb such unlawful activities and ensure market integrity.