BSEC seeks info of 117 Beximco-linked BO accounts

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has sought detailed information, including portfolio statements, of 117 beneficiary owner (BO) accounts with which the owners of Beximco Ltd are allegedly involved.

Just as a bank account holds funds, a BO account holds shares and money deposited by investors and enables them to buy and sell stocks.

A portfolio statement provides detailed information about a customer's interests and entitlements related to their investments.

The stock market regulator asked the stock exchanges for the data, saying that Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) had demanded it.

The stock market regulator also ordered these accounts to be frozen in line with instructions from the BFIU.

Having received the letter on November 14, Chittagong Stock Exchange yesterday instructed brokerage houses to submit KYC (know your customer) forms and statements of the BO accounts within the next three days.

Preferring anonymity, a top BSEC official said the owners of Beximco Ltd were involved in all 117 of the BO accounts.

The official added that some of the owners of these BO accounts were recently fined by the regulator for their involvement in the price manipulation of Beximco Ltd shares.

After the Awami League government was ousted by a mass uprising on August 5, Salman F Rahman, vice-chairman of Beximco, was taken into custody in connection with two attempted murder cases, leaving the conglomerate in hot water.

Since then, Beximco Ltd has been enduring a severe liquidity crunch, leading to unpaid dues.

Additionally, an inability to open letters of credit (LCs) for raw material imports forced its factories to halt production since August.

These factors have caused 24 ventures of Beximco Ltd to halt operations.

Meanwhile, Janata Bank rejected Beximco Ltd's application for a loan of Tk 60 crore, which it had sought to pay employees' salaries for the month of October.

In late August, the BSEC had frozen BO accounts maintained by Salman F Rahman, while the BFIU ordered all banks to freeze any account belonging to him.