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PREMIER BANK IPO SCAM

SEC team starts probing, BB to join in today

STAR REPORT
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yesterday sent a team to probe into the Premier Bank public floating scam, while the central bank decided to check if there was any irregularity in opening a huge number of bank accounts for share subscription.
The Bangladesh Bank (BB) investigators, likely to start working today, will verify whether there was any violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act in opening the bank accounts with Premier Bank Ltd.
Sources said a two-member team of the capital market regulator went to inspect some Premier Bank branches in the city. The team will send a letter to the BB passing on the findings of this preliminary investigation, they added.
Acting on the letter, the BB will send its own vigilance team to check whether these accounts were opened properly, including having photographs and addresses and following other guidelines.
"We have received allegations of opening thousands of fake bank accounts with Premier Bank," said a top official of the BB, adding, "The central bank is closely watching the progress of the SEC probe into the matter."
The SEC on Saturday suspended a Tk 55 crore initial public offering (IPO) of Premier Bank after around 25,000 beneficiary owners' (BO) accounts suspected to be fakes had been found in an investigation.
The bank allegedly used a single
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address to open around 15,000 accounts. Only a few addresses were mentioned to open the rest, around 10,000 BO accounts.
As it is mandatory to mention a bank account number and the branch in opening a BO account, the SEC inquiry committee will verify whether Premier Bank opened false bank accounts too, which is an act of money laundering.
The SEC decided to suspend the IPO on the basis of its preliminary findings and after consulting with the central bank.
Meantime Premier Bank Managing Director Kazi Abdul Mazid yesterday did not attend the monthly meeting (Bankers' Meet) of the chief executive officers of banks with BB executives.
Hailing the SEC decision, Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) CEO Salahuddin Ahmed Khan yesterday said the timely decision has proved that the market is under the regulator's control.
"Many investors kept their money idle to apply for the Premier Bank IPO. After the SEC decision, they have changed their minds. It certainly made a positive impact on the market," Khan observed.
The DSE General Index yesterday gained 35.83 points to close at 1,797.95 points. The All Share Price Index of the only other bourse of the country, Chittagong Stock Exchange, also gained 56.71 points to close at 3,289.09 points.