Regulator cancels TradeCap’s licence renewal application

The licence renewal application of TradeCap Stock Brokerage Ltd was rejected nine months after the submission of documents, as the regulator found that the company's ownership transfer was not done properly.

Now, stock investors who traded through this brokerage house, formerly known as Anwer Khan Modern Securities Ltd, will have to transfer their shares to other brokerage houses through a link account if they want to continue trading.

The spokesperson of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), Abul Kalam, confirmed the cancellation to The Daily Star today.

Every stock brokerage house is required to renew its trade licence every year.

"The commission found out that TradeCap's ownership change was not done properly," he said.

Abu Sadat Md Sayem, managing director of TradeCap, said his company had worked for the last nine months to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements for the renewal of its broker-dealer licence.

He also said he had not yet been informed about the cancellation of the renewal.

When asked whether fines imposed by the BSEC against him for several instances of stock manipulation were a hidden cause of the licence cancellation, Sayem said the regulator cannot deny renewing the licence, as the matter is still sub judice.

Earlier last month, the Dhaka Stock Exchange suspended trading at TradeCap as its licence expired on November 23 this year.

Before the licence expiry and trading suspension, the premier bourse had asked the BSEC for guidance regarding TradeCap, but the regulator remained silent.

After the suspension, the brokerage firm went to court.

On December 1, the Supreme Court directed the DSE to allow the brokerage firm to immediately resume and continue its full trading and depository operations until the regulator made a decision on the renewal or reissuance of the licence.

In this situation, the regulator came up with the decision to reject the renewal.

The ownership of Anwer Khan Modern Securities was transferred in August last year to five new shareholders.

Later, one shareholder left as he did not have clearance from the Credit Information Bureau, according to the DSE.

The previous one-year licence renewal approval was granted in November 2024.