BSEC scraps investor surveillance plan

The Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) yesterday scrapped its plan to bring voice calls and internet data of stock market investors under surveillance.

Prof Shibli Rubayat-Ul Islam, the immediate past chairman of the stock market regulator, had attempted to get government approval for the surveillance earlier this year.

He had sent a letter to Financial Institutions Division under the finance ministry seeking to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with National Telecommunication Monitoring Centre (NTMC).

The NTMC is the state's communication interception and intelligence agency running under the Public Security Division of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Prof Shibli had resigned from the top post on August 10, five days past the fall of the Awami League government following a students-led uprising.

In the letter, he had reasoned that the surveillance was to catch stock market manipulators and traders with insider information.

Investors were surprised to hear about the surveillance attempt, with many criticising it as a breach of privacy.

Against this backdrop, the stock market regulator held a meeting at its office in the capital yesterday where Khondoker Rashed Maqsood, who was appointed as the BSEC chief last week, decided to scrap the plan.

In a press release, the BSEC said the plan for signing an MoU with the NTMC has been scrapped, for which it would ask Financial Institutions Division to ignore Prof Shibli's letter.