The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has imposed fines totaling Tk 2.73 crore on five individuals due to irregularities in the share trading activities of Sonali Life Insurance Company Limited.

This decision was made during a meeting on March 4, following an investigation into the company’s trading practices.

The fines were distributed as follows: Nurjahan Begum received a penalty of Tk 1 lakh, Md. Sajidul Hasan was fined Tk 75 lakh, Md. Sayadur Rahman was also fined Tk 1 lakh, Ferdousi Begum faced a fine of Tk 1 crore 95 lakh, and Md. Lutfur Rahman was fined Tk 1 lakh.

Additionally, the commission has opted to send a warning letter to Eastern Bank for breaching securities regulations in relation to Sonali Life’s share trading.

The investigation examined activities from April 18 to June 11, 2023, during which various violations of securities laws were identified.

The findings revealed that on April 18, 2023, Sonali Life’s share price was Tk 64, which surged by 65 percent to Tk 105.50 by June 11, indicating an unusual increase without any relevant price-sensitive information. The implicated investors were found to be involved in this activity.

In a related development, the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) downgraded Sonali Life Insurance’s shares to the Z category in January 2025 due to the company’s failure to conduct an annual general meeting (AGM).

Furthermore, in October 2024, the Bangladesh Financial Intelligence Unit (BFIU) discovered financial irregularities amounting to Tk 353 crore within Sonali Life. The former chairman, Mustafa Golam Quddus, along with his family members, has been accused of fraud, irregularities, and money laundering.

Sonali Life Insurance was listed on the stock exchange in 2021 and distributed a 20 percent cash dividend to its shareholders in 2022, following a 15 percent cash dividend in 2021.