B Mirror Desk: The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has suspended the BO accounts of three individuals due to allegations of stock manipulation involving Khan Brothers PP Oven Bag Industries, a publicly traded company. The BSEC has also initiated a further investigation into the situation.

The individuals facing charges are Md. Azad Hossain Patowary, Nasir Uddin Akand, and Md. Akhtar Hossain.

This decision was made during the 949th BSEC commission meeting held on Tuesday, March 25. A press release issued by BSEC Director and Spokesperson Md. Abul Kalam provided this information.

According to the release, the commission resolved to halt debit transactions in the BO accounts of the aforementioned individuals based on suspicions of manipulation in the trading of Khan Brothers’ shares. Additionally, the meeting agreed to pursue a more in-depth investigation.

In a related development, the BSEC recently imposed fines totaling Tk 8.6 million on eight individuals and three companies for their involvement in the share manipulation of Khan Brothers PP Oven Bag Industries Limited. This manipulation was orchestrated by prominent businessman Mohammad Ebadul Karim, Managing Director of Beacon Pharma, who was also implicated alongside Patowary, Akand, and Hossain.

Previously, from March 5 to July 13, 2023, and again from September 19 to November 12 of the same year, Karim and his associates allegedly conspired to artificially inflate the share price of Khan Brothers PP Oven Bag Industries. Following various allegations, the BSEC took action to identify and penalize those involved in the manipulation, pending further investigation.