Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has fined one investor and three companies Tk 1 crore 70 lakh for the share manipulation of Himadri Limited, a listed SME market in the stock market.

According to BSEC sources, those who have been fined are Md. Rafiqul Bari and his company M/s AR Traders have been fined Tk 1 crore, M/s OV Bricks Tk 60 lakh, and Munir Traders Tk 10 lakh.

Stock Exchange (DSE) investigation found that one investor and three institutions were involved in the manipulation of shares of Himadri Limited from April 27 to August 28, 2023.

The accused persons and institutions have been directed to pay the fine within 30 working days. The order mentioned that further action would be taken against them as per law if they failed to comply with the instructions.

According to data available from DSE, the share price of Himadri Limited was taka 35.50 on April 18. On August 28, the price of the share increased to 2 thousand 790 taka 20 poisa. DSE investigates the transactions of the companies due to such abnormal rises in share prices.

Currently, the share price of Himadri Limited is taka 1,949 each. Earlier, in mid-November last year, each share had risen to Tk 10,000.

According to the Commission’s order, during the period from April 27 to September 17, 2023, M/s OV Bricks and associates made a realized gain of Tk 2 crore 2 lakh and an unrealized gain of Tk 79 crore 95 lakh by manipulating the share.