In the realm of the stock market, the inclusion of SME Market (Small & Medium Sized Enterprises) in the listing of Master Feed Agrotech Limited has led to accusations of share manipulation against the company’s director, Rafiqul Alam. His spouse has also been implicated in the alleged deception. Moreover, using a fictitious address has raised further suspicions. These grave allegations prompted a written complaint to the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) by the stock market regulatory authority. The information was disclosed on July 20, Thursday, when First Capital Securities Limited wrote to BSEC Chairman Shibli Rubayat Ul Islam with these concerning details.
it is mentioned that there were already various controversies surrounding Master Feed Agrotech’s placement shares. Several stakeholders, who held the company’s shares, had discussions in the past regarding this issue. Furthermore, it has been alleged that some individuals used false addresses to manipulate the placement shares, which has created suspicions among general investors. These incidents came to light when some controversial individuals in the stock market failed to get the company listed on the main market. Eventually, the company got listed on the SME platform. It is believed that they are now selling the company’s placement shares to ordinary investors using fake names and addresses. The situation is expected to be clarified once the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission conducts its investigation.
According to sources, the Managing Director of Master Feed Agrotech, Rafiqul Alam, passed away on 15th July last year. At the time of his death, he possessed 70 lakh 50 thousand shares of Master Feed. Then, on 1st March of the following year, an announcement was made by Master Feed on behalf of the deceased director, regarding the transfer of his shares in the company.
According to the information received, Umme Habiba Yasmin, the spouse of the late Managing Director of Master Feed Agrotech, Rafiqul Alam, opened a BO account (Beneficiary Owners) at First Capital Securities Limited on March 5 with a photocopy of her passport and bank account cheque. She deposited 17 lakh 62 thousand 500 shares of Master Feed into this account. Additionally, between the 4th and 23rd of the same month, another 15 lakh 35 thousand 708 shares of the same company were also deposited into the account. Subsequently, Umme Habiba sold all the shares and withdrew an amount of Tk 1 crore 18 lakh. These transactions caught the attention of First Capital Securities Limited, prompting their Chief Anti-Money Laundering Officer (CAMLO) to initiate an investigation into the account.
During the investigation, several discrepancies came to light. The mobile number used for the account did not belong to Umme Habiba Yasmin but to her sister, Eva Akhter. Eva Akhtar’s power of attorney for Umme Habiba’s BO account, although she does not know the nominee (Umme Habiba). Furthermore, the authorized attorney for the BO account was identified as someone named Abul Bashar, who happened to be the company secretary of Master Feed Agrotech. The same individual, under the name of Suman Ratul, made a phone call to First Capital Securities’ CEO on 21st May, claiming to be the company secretary and informing that Umme Habiba was unwell. After that, if the customer gets healthy, the CEO of the brokerage asked her to come to the office with NID, passport and all the copies of documents submitted to DSE.. However, later on, Umme Habiba herself submitted only the photocopy of the Succession Certificate in the office after her recovery.
According to sources, Umme Habiba is the wife of the late Rafiqul Alam, as per the inheritance certificate. However, her passport, which was submitted to open the account, shows her husband’s name as Md. Mokaddem Hossain, with an issue date of 26th November 2018 and an expiry date of 25th November 2023. Additionally, her profession and address provided in the beneficiary owner’s account do not match with her national ID card. Strangely, she mentioned Pyar Uddin as the nominee for the account, but he is an employee of Master Feed Agrotech, and there is no known relative connection between him and Umme Habiba.
It is known that even if Rafiqul Alam’s father, Abdur Rashid, granted permission for Umme Habiba to withdraw the money on her behalf, Master Feed Agrotech, the company’s authority, unlawfully transferred the shares to Umme Habiba’s BO account. Moreover, when asked by Kawsar Al Mamun, the CEO of First Capital Securities, Umme Habiba claimed to have no knowledge of opening any account in Southeast Bank. She also had no idea about the amount of money deposited in the bank until 16th July. Umme Habiba was living in Uttara for one year and six months but could not recall the name of the building she resided in or her father-in-law’s name.
As per the sources, Umme Habiba does not recognize Md. Abul Bashar, the Power of Attorney holder for her BO account. To further investigate the matter, Md. Kawsar Al Mamun have sent a senior officer Arju, to Umme Habiba’s address in Uttara. However, the local residents there do not recognize Rafiqul Alam, and no one with that name resided at the mentioned address.
On 16th July, the Managing Director of Master Feed Agrotech, Md. Kabir Hossen, accompanied by 4/5 individuals, including a woman, visits the office of First Capital Securities. There, Md. Kabir Hossen introduces the woman as Umme Habiba and requests verification with her NID. However, he forbids any other questions to be asked and exhibits aggressive behavior towards Al Mamun, the CEO of First Capital Securities. After giving threats, he leaves the office. Following this incident, Al Mamun files a general diary at Motijheel Police Station.
In connection to the incident, the CEO of First Capital Securities, Md. Kawsar Al Mamun, informs Orthosongbad that Umme Habiba Yasmine is the wife of Rafiqul Alam, the director of Master Feed Agrotech. The matter came to notice as she repeatedly withdrew large sums of money from the BO account. Asking her to bring NID passport and photo copies of documents submitted in DSE as it seems suspicious. But she took a lot of time to send only the photocopy of the court succession certificate.
According to Md. Kawsar Al Mamun, Umme Habiba Yasmine, along with the management director of Master Feed Agrotech, visited his office one day. They requested verification with her NID, ensuring that no other questions would be asked. However, as soon as the topic of the bank account was brought up, they became agitated and displayed aggressive behavior. This raised further suspicion about her attempts to make large withdrawals from the BO account, as mentioned by the representative of First Capital Securities.
Regarding this incident, the company secretary and Power of Attorney holder for the BO account of Master Feed Agrotech, Suman Ratul, also known as Md. Abul Bashar, informed Orthosongbad that after the death of Director Rafiqul Alam, his father received 75% of the shares as per the succession order from the High Court. The remaining 25% of the shares were received by Umme Habiba Yasmine, who was the second wife of Rafiqul Alam. He also stated that Rafiqul Alam was her second husband.
When asked how he became the Power of Attorney holder for Umme Habiba’s BO account despite being the company secretary of Master Feed, Abul Bashar explained that after the death of the company’s managing director, he was requested by Umme Habiba, who was also the immediate director, to resolve the matter. Based on her request, he granted her the Power of Attorney. He further mentioned that the immediate director has also passed away.
Regarding this matter, the Executive Director and spokesperson of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), Mohammad Rezaul Karim, stated that they have received allegations of market manipulation against the managing director of Master Feed Agrotech. The commission will investigate the specific allegations and take appropriate legal actions if they find any wrongdoing.
To get further comments on this issue, Assistant Professor Mohammad Al-Amin from the Department of Accounting at Dhaka University told Orthosongbad that any market-related allegations are usually investigated by the investigation team of the stock market regulator. As the allegation has been raised, the commission will certainly conduct a thorough investigation.
He further mentioned that those who engage in market manipulation prefer to keep it hidden and avoid coming to the forefront. Hence, investors need to remain vigilant. He urged the regulatory body BSEC to promptly investigate and resolve such allegations.
