Report submission deferred in stock market fraud case against Shakib, 14 others

A Dhaka court on Sunday deferred the submission of investigation report in a case filed against former Bangladesh cricket captain and ex-MP Shakib Al Hasan, along with 14 others, over alleged stock market manipulation, fraud and money laundering.

Senior Special Judge Sabbir Foyez set November 26 as new date after the investigation officer from Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) failed to submit the report and requested additional time.

The case was filed on May 17 by ACC Assistant Director Sajjad Hossain. 

It accuses the defendants of artificially inflating the share prices of selected companies through fraudulent transactions, speculative trading and market manipulation, resulting in massive financial losses for general investors. The total alleged fraud amounts to over Tk 256 crore.

According to case documents, co-accused Abul Khayer (Hiru), a deputy registrar of cooperatives and his wife Kazi Sadia Hasan, are accused of concealing Tk 29.9 crore and managing suspicious transactions totaling Tk 542 crore across 17 bank accounts.

Shakib Al Hasan is alleged to have invested in manipulated shares of Paramount Insurance, Crystal Insurance and Sonali Papers Ltd., thereby aiding in the market manipulation. 

He reportedly made personal gains of approximately Tk 2.95 crore under the pretext of “realized capital gains.”

The other accused in the case are Abul Kalam Madbar, Kanika Afroze, Mohammad Bashar, Sajed Madbar, Aleya Begum, Kazi Fuad Hasan, Kazi Farid Hasan, Shirin Akter, Javed A. Matin, Zahed Kamal, Humayun Kabir and Tanvir Nizam.

MAL/SH