DSE pledges to pay out Crest clients in move to allay investor fears

Dhaka Stock Exchange pledged to return shares and funds to the clients of Crest Securities Ltd after its owner shuttered the brokerage house and disappeared.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 28 June 2020, 04:29 PM
Updated : 28 June 2020, 04:29 PM

The DSE says it wants to “set an example” by finding ways for the investors to get back their money soon.

The investors will be required to send information within 15 days, DSE Managing Director Kazi Sanaul Hoq said in an online media briefing on Sunday. “We want to finish everything as fast as possible.”

The DSE was assessing the net worth of Crest’s assets to examine whether selling them would be enough to pay out the investors, according to Hoq.   

The stock exchange has taken the matter “seriously” as the closure of the brokerage house without any prior notice has left its investors worried about their money and shares amid the coronavirus crisis, Hoq said.

Around 21,000 accounts on Crest Securities have shares worth Tk 820 million as of Jun 25, the DSE managing director said citing data from the Central Depository Bangladesh Limited, or CDBL.

The DSE will sell its Tk 100 million worth of shares with CDBL to pay the Crest investors, if necessary, Hoq said.  

Hoq said the DSE sold shares from Crest to “adjust its settlement failure” on Jun 23 and halted its transactions on the following day. 

It asked Bangladesh Bank through Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission to freeze bank accounts of Crest directors.

The stock exchange also informed police and immigration authorities so that the people involved with Crest cannot flee Bangladesh, Hoq said.

According to the information given on the website of the brokerage house, Crest Securities was incorporated in 2006. The company has three branches in Dhaka, Narayanganj and Cumilla. The owner of the house is Md Shahid Ullah.

The company could not repay bank loans due to the coronavirus crisis, the owner of another brokerage house told bdnews24.com, seeking anonymity. The investors’ money has also been stuck and the whole situation has forced the Crest authorities to close the offices, he added.