Central Depository Bangladesh Limited withdraws trade suspension on PFI Securities

Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL) has withdrawn the suspension order levied on PFI Securities Limited after the company pledged to fulfil the consolidated customer account deficit and repay the depository participant (DP) operation license fee.

"PFI Securities has resumed its operation and investors were able to trade their shares through the brokerage firm," Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) Acting Managing Director M Shaifur Rahman Mazumdar told The Business Standard.

In a letter sent on 17 November, the CDBL said DP operation of PFI securities will remain suspended from 20 November due to failure of submitting the consolidated customer account clearance certificate and DP registration certificate renewal fee.

The letter also stated that the suspension order will be lifted once the company submits the clearance certificate from the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC).

On the same day, the new board of the company promised to meet the deficit of the consolidated customer account and pay the renewal fee. Later that day, the suspension order was lifted.

The depository participant is described as an agent of the depository. They are the intermediaries between the depository and the investors. And this depository or shares stay with the CDBL.

So for share trading, a DP operation licence has to be obtained from the CDBL. As this licence is suspended, the company will no longer receive services from the CDBL. So shares cannot be traded and the beneficiary owner (BO) account holders of the firm will be in trouble.

According to DSE sources, there has been a shortfall in the consolidated customer account due to irregularities and corruption of the former director of the company, MA Khaleque.

The involvement of PFI Securities was also found in an investigation into the embezzlement of Prime Islami Life Insurance and Fareast Islami Life Insurance. The embezzlement was investigated by the stock market regulator and the insurance regulator.

Even the Anti-Corruption Commission has filed a case against the managing director of PFI Securities for allegedly embezzling money from Fareast Finance.

Earlier in 2018, the BSEC fined PFI Securities Tk25 lakh for deficits in consolidated customer accounts and irregularities in stock market investments.