DSE Sackings Trigger BSEC Probe as Finance Ministry Orders Reinstatement Review

The Finance Ministry has stepped into the escalating controversy over a wave of dismissals at the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), directing the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) to investigate complaints by four sacked officials and take action under the relevant rules on their possible reinstatement.

The intervention comes after at least 28 DSE officials and employees were dismissed in three waves over the past two months, raising fresh questions over the exchange’s handling of its restructuring drive and compliance with due process.

In a letter signed by Deputy Secretary Farzana Jahan on Tuesday, the Financial Institutions Division (FID) of the Finance Ministry asked the BSEC chairman to take necessary action.

The letter said four former DSE officials had petitioned the ministry on July 26, claiming they had been terminated from their jobs “illegally and unilaterally”. After examining their complaint, the ministry instructed the BSEC to investigate the matter and take steps in accordance with the relevant rules regarding their reinstatement.

The four officials are former DSE Deputy General Managers Md Abdur Razzak, Md Shaheen Sarwar Hossain and Hosne Ara Parvin, and former Senior Manager Momtazul Haque Chowdhury. They alleged that the exchange terminated their employment without following proper procedures.

The ministry’s intervention follows a similar complaint by another former senior DSE official.
Former DSE DGM Md Abdul Latif lodged a complaint with the FID on July 5, alleging that he had been dismissed without prior notice or an opportunity to defend himself. According to his complaint, the only reason cited for his termination was that “the position is no longer required”.

The FID subsequently wrote to the BSEC chairman on July 23, asking the regulator to look into the matter. The BSEC is now investigating the complaint, sources familiar with the development said.

The latest intervention comes amid a sweeping purge at the DSE. Eight employees, including four DGMs, were dismissed on June 25, followed by another nine on July 29. The exchange terminated a further 11 employees in a single day on August 11.

The DSE has yet to publicly disclose the reasons for the latest round of 11 dismissals. Some of the affected employees have claimed that they were given no prior notice before losing their jobs.

The exchange had earlier defended the dismissal of the first 17 employees as part of an organisational restructuring exercise carried out under the Bangladesh Labour Act and the DSE’s service rules.

The DSE maintained that the decisions were not driven by personal considerations or discrimination, but were based on its long-term organisational requirements and business interests.

The dismissed officials have rejected that explanation, demanding reinstatement and an impartial investigation into the decisions.

The controversy is now widening beyond the DSE’s internal administration. The BSEC is also examining allegations relating to the appointment of senior DSE officials, financial transactions and investment activities in the capital market.

The successive dismissals, coupled with complaints from former employees, have therefore brought the management of the country’s premier stock exchange under increasing scrutiny from both the capital-market regulator and the Finance Ministry.

However, none of the allegations raised by the dismissed officials or the broader complaints concerning DSE management has yet been conclusively established through an investigation.