Enquiry team formed to look into DSE Investor Protection Fund

Business Report :
The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) on Monday formed an enquiry committee to look into the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) Investor Protection Fund.
The committee consisting of four BSEC officials, including one from the Central Depository Bangladesh Ltd (CDBL), will report within 60 days after checking if the money supposed to have been in the protection fund was deposited and protected there.

Also, if the four untraceable DSE members’ dividends piled up over the years were deposited in the fund built to pay stock market investors in case of brokerage or settlement failure.
The committee will also report on if the entire money was not deposited to the investor protection fund, why it happened and who was responsible for that.
At present, DSE Investors Protection Fund has Tk19-20 crore in assets and the fund is governed by a trustee board which includes a DSE director.

Four of the old members were out of communication while demutualisation a decade ago forced all to build companies to operate brokerage businesses.
All except for the missing four individuals did it and the assets, and unclaimed dividends of the four members were safely kept by the DSE itself.
A senior DSE official told that Tk8-9 crore in dividends was earned by the four members over years and there had been no legitimate one to claim it.
Part of it was transferred to the Investor Protection Fund and a full transfer of the amount will make the fund even bigger.
Defrauded brokerage clients of Tamha and Banco Securities are set to be partially compensated from the protection fund.