Md Aminul Islam, founder and managing director of Nabil Group, along with two of the conglomerate鈥檚 firms, has been fined Tk 3.40 crore for manipulating shares of Orion Pharma, according to an enforcement report by the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission.
The BSEC imposed the fines following an investigation by the Dhaka Stock Exchange, which uncovered evidence of share price manipulation.
The commission fined Nabil Group鈥檚 concerns 鈥� Nabil Feed Mills and Nabil Naba Foods 鈥� Tk 10 lakh each while Aminul Islam was fined Tk 3.2 crore. Both firms are headed by Aminul as managing director.
The DSE鈥檚 investigation focused on Orion Pharma鈥檚 share trading between September 21, 2021 and October 14, 2021. During this period, the stock price surged by 69 per cent, rising from Tk 68.20 to Tk 115.20 per share.
According to the BSEC investigation, Nabil Group and its associates used a network of beneficiary owner accounts to trade shares of Orion Pharma among themselves, creating an illusion of high demand and driving up the stock price.
This manipulation allowed them to sell shares at inflated prices, securing substantial profits.
Aminul Islam and his associates executed trades through four BO accounts: two under his name at ICB Securities Trading and Akij Capital Management, while Nabil Feed Mills and Nabil Naba Foods operated BO accounts at United Securities.
The investigation report read: 鈥業t is evident that Md Aminul Islam and his associates were involved directly and indirectly in a series of transactions of shares of Orion Pharma in order to create the appearance of active trading and raising of price of the said shares.鈥�
The investigation found that they bought 94.55 lakh shares and sold 81.36 lakh shares on both block and public markets.
Their trading activity accounted for 8.39 per cent of Orion Pharma鈥檚 total shares, yielding a capital gain of Tk 1.47 crore and an unrealised gain of Tk 6.16 crore.
These actions violated Section 17 of the Securities and Exchange Ordinance, 1969, which prohibits fraudulent or manipulative trading practices, including creating misleading trading activity or artificial price movements.
The BSEC summoned Aminul for a hearing on May 21, 2023. He did not attend in person, but submitted a written statement, arguing that his trades were based on Orion Pharma鈥檚 valuation, dividend history and perceived growth potential.
He claimed that his transactions were aimed at short-term profit-taking using technical analysis and denied any intent to manipulate the market.
鈥榃e hereby confess that we have never done or been willing to take any undue advantage that could cause any inconvenience for the market or general investors. I firmly believe the amount of investment and profit doesn鈥檛 reflect the accusation,鈥� Aminul stated.
However, the BSEC rejected his explanation, concluding that his actions were deliberate and detrimental to general investors.
Rajshahi-based Nabil Group gained attention in 2023 after securing a substantial loan from Islami Bank. Aminul鈥檚 alleged affiliation with S Alam Group also drew scrutiny.