The Financial Institutions Division (FID) issued a notification today (28 August) appointing him as a commissioner with a four-year term
Former senior district and sessions judge Md Ali Akbar has been appointed as a commissioner of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) for a four-year term.
His salary and benefits will be determined by his employment contract with the government, according to a notification issued by the Financial Institutions Division (FID) today (28 August).
The BSEC, which has a five-member commission, requires a quorum of at least three commissioners (including the chairman) to conduct meetings.
However, after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, the BSEC was left without a quorum as the chairman, Shibli Rubayat-Ul Islam, and two commissioners, Dr Shaikh Shamsuddin Ahmed and Dr Rubana Islam, resigned.
Although Khondoker Rashed Maqsood was appointed as the new chairman on 18 August, the commission still couldn’t hold meetings due to the lack of a quorum.
With the appointment of Ali Akbar, the BSEC now has three active commissioners – ATM Tariquzzaman, Md Mohsin Chowdhury, and Md Ali Akbar – allowing it to resume its operations.
Regulatory officials claim that the commission was unable to make any policy decisions due to the quorum crisis during this period. As a result, the commission could not hold any meetings after Shibli Rubayat-Ul Islam resigned, leading to many significant issues being left unresolved, which now require attention through a commission meeting.
Shibli Rubayat-Ul Islam, an active member of the pro-Awami League Blue Panel at Dhaka University, ended his premature tenure as the chairman of the BSEC just five days after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government.
Shibli, who joined the commission in May 2020, faces numerous allegations, including resorting to autocratic practices, facilitating market manipulators, and approving companies with poor fundamentals to raise funds from general investors.
The banking and insurance professor was reappointed on 28 April this year for a second four-year term but resigned on 10 August, just four months after his reappointment.
Previously, Md Ziaul Haque Khandker was forced to step down without completing his tenure as BSEC chairman following the stock market crash in 2010.
Source: The Business Standarda