Stocks
BSEC Freezes All Stock Accounts of Former IGP Benazir Ahmed & Family
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) has directed the freezing of all stock market accounts belonging to former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Benazir Ahmed, his wife Jishan Mirza, and their younger daughter Tahsin Raisha Binte Benazir.
On Monday, May 27, BSEC instructed the Central Depository Bangladesh Limited (CDBL) to freeze all beneficiary owner (BO) accounts held by them. This order prohibits any deposits or withdrawals from these accounts while the freeze is in effect.
Additionally, BSEC sent related directives to CDBL and the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) on the same day. The family collectively holds six BO accounts in the stock market.
Benazir Ahmed’s accounts are with IFIC Securities Limited and Dragon Securities Limited. His wife, Jishan Mirza, has accounts with Southeast Bank Capital Services Limited and EBL Securities Limited. Their elder daughter, Farhin Rishta Binte Benazir, holds an account with EBL Securities Limited, while their younger daughter, Tahsin Raisha Binte Benazir, has an account with Dynasty Securities Limited.
The BSEC’s directive stated that in accordance with an order from the Senior Special Judge’s Court, six BO accounts across five brokerage houses are to be frozen until further notice. As per the court’s order, no funds can be withdrawn from these accounts while the freeze is in place.
Previously, on May 23, the court ordered the confiscation of assets belonging to the former police officer. This order was issued by Dhaka Metropolitan Sessions Judge Mohammad As-Sams Jaglul Hossain following the submission of 83 documents by the ACC.
On the following day, the court ordered the seizure of 119 movable and immovable assets, including four apartments in Gulshan, owned by Benazir Ahmed and his family.
Meanwhile, the ACC continues to investigate Benazir Ahmed’s assets. The ACC lawyer stated that more properties might be seized as further evidence is uncovered.
ACC lawyer Khurshid Alam mentioned that if additional assets are found, the ACC will seek court approval for their confiscation. So far, 35 bank accounts linked to the former police chief have been frozen.
Reviewing the U.S. Stock Markets, the Nasdaq Composite, recorded a decent loss of 1,023 points, reaching a closing value of 16,690 points by the end of the week. Similarly, the S&P 500 index showed a positive trend, losing 240 points to settle at 5,408 points. Meanwhile, DJIA Index experienced a notable hike, adding 1,218 points during the week and concluding at 40,345 points after a week of gaining.
In contrast, Russell 3000 Index saw a loss in week performance, with a slight drop of 141 point to reach 3,077 points by the end of the week.
Moving to Russell 2000 Index, demonstrated a notable lost of 126 points, ending the week at 2,091 points.
In the Outgoing week, the European stock market displayed a mixed performance.
Here is the data on the weekly performance of the European Stock Market, The STOXX Europe 600 index, which is considered a leading benchmark for the European market and covers approximately 90 percent of the market capitalization across 17 countries, reported a loss of 18.49 points to close at 506.56.
The United Kingdom’s FTSE 100, one of the most widely followed indices in Europe, also showed a significant drop, losing 195 points or finishing the session at 8,181.
In Germany, the DAX 30 index, added by 605 points to reach 18,301, while France’s CAC 40 decreased by 278 points to stop at 7,352 at the end of the trading day.
Italy’s FTSE MIB, which covers the top 40 stocks traded on the Milan Stock Exchange, decreased by 1,081 points to 33,291. However, Spain’s IBEX 35, lost by 228 points, to close at 11,173.
A review of South Asian stock markets shows that India’s Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) index BSE Sensex has lost 1,182 points during the week. At the end of the week, the index stood at 82,365 points. On the other hand, the Nifty-50 index of the country’s National Stock Exchange dropped by 383 points last week. At the end of the week, the index stood at 24,852 points.
Pakistan Stock Exchange Index ‘KSE 100’, added 459 points last week. After a week of losing, the index settled at 79,002 points.
On the other hand, The Sri Lankan stock market index loss, and the Colombo Stock Exchange index ‘ASPI’ decreased by 94 points in a week. After a week the index settled at 10,775 points.
Bhutan’s stock market index ‘BSI’ dropped by 9 points hence the index stood at 1,500 points throughout the whole week. Nepal’s ‘NEPSE’ lost 22 points, therefore the index stands at 2,727 points.
Hence Dhaka Stock Exchange: The benchmark index ‘DSEX’ lost by 75.77 points or 1.31 percent, in the outgoing week. At the end of the week, the index stands at 5,728 points.
