Health Minister Zahid Maleque and his sister, Rubina Hamid, are poised to divest additional Sunlife Insurance shares inherited from their late mother, Fouzia Maleque. Following the completion of the sale of 1.34 crore shares to Green Delta Insurance for Tk67 crore on December 3, the family has disclosed plans to sell 8.16 lakh shares by Zahid Maleque and 5.58 lakh shares by Rubina Hamid, including the inherited shares, according to a recent disclosure by Sunlife Insurance on the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) block market.
The late Fouzia Maleque, a sponsor director at Sunlife, passed away in May 2021, leaving behind 12.24 lakh shares, as directed by the High Court. The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) had previously approved the share transaction deal between the parties with a no objection certificate from the Insurance Development and Regulatory Authority (IDRA).
As per the agreement, the new owners are required to establish a 13-member board of directors, with each director holding 2% or more shares of the company. The shares will be locked for two years, preventing the new directors from selling them during this period. The BSEC’s November 16 letter emphasized that any inconsistency found in submitted documents and declarations in the future would result in the cancellation of the approval.
In the backdrop of this development, Sunlife Insurance has been grappling with challenges in settling policyholder claims, leading to legal actions by some clients against high-ranking officials, including the chairman and CEO. The IDRA appointed an observer in June to safeguard policyholder interests and ensure good governance in response to constant complaints about delayed insurance claims.
Sunlife Insurance’s half-yearly financials for 2023 reveal a total outstanding claim of Tk30 crore as of June, underscoring the company’s present financial situation.
