4 investors fined for manipulating Himadri shares

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has fined four investors — an individual and three firms — Tk1.70 crore for violating securities laws and rules and manipulating shares of Himadri Limited.

Md Rafiqul Bari and his firm M/S AR Traders were fined Tk1 crore, M/S Ovi Bricks Tk60 lakh, and Munir Traders Tk10 lakh, according to an order from the commission.

During an investigation by the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), the four investors were found to have been involved in manipulating the share trading of Himadri Ltd from 27 April to 28 August 2023. 

The commission directed the alleged the four investors to pay the fines within 30 working days. In case of failure to comply, the commission stated it would take the necessary actions according to the order published on its website on Thursday.

According to information from the DSE, on 18 April, the price of Himardi Ltd shares was Tk35.5 each, but the price surged to Tk2,790.2 each. Due to this unusual increase in share price, the DSE investigated the trading of the companies. 

Currently, the share price of Himadri Ltd is Tk1,949 each, having previously peaked at Tk10,000 each in mid-November last year.

The commission's order stated that during the period from 27 April to 17 September 2023, M/S Ovi Bricks and associates realised a capital gain of Tk2.02 crore and an unrealised gain of Tk79.95 crore. This led to Md Rafiqul Bari and his firm M/S AR Traders being fined Tk1 crore for violating securities laws.

The per-unit realised gain was Tk295.41 or 184.60%, and the unrealised gain per unit was Tk6,267.68 or 3034.87%.

Furthermore, M/S Ovi Bricks realised a capital gain of Tk66.67 lakh during the same period and an unrealised gain of Tk25.30 crore. Meanwhile, Munir Traders were fined Tk10 lakh.

According to the commission's orders, Munir Traders realised a gain of Tk13.15 lakh and an unrealised gain of Tk27.33 crore.