Dhaka, Jan. 22 -- On a fine Monday morning in June 2020, investors discovered that the owner of Crest Securities Md Shahid Ullah absconded with Tk 420 million from the funds of its clients, having shut the brokerage firm.

The money was withdrawn from the account known as consolidated customer account (CCA) opened with a scheduled bank in the name of the stock broker.

Investors' money usually goes to one such account of the brokerage firm that they deal with for share transactions. The firm uses the money deposited by a client against their BO (beneficiary owner's) account to purchase shares.

The embezzlement was followed by stringent actions by the securities regulator in March 2022, including an end to the dividend payments to brokers...