APROPOS the above letter (Aug 18). I entirely endorse the views expressed by him. What is the SECP doing about defaulting companies? The main issue confronting SECP is the unexplained withholding of final inquiry reports.

I am a victim of a registered stockbroker, M.S. Bagasrawala Securities Ltd. I, and other investors, opened a sub-account with the corporate member in 2006, when he was also an executive member of the Karachi Stock Exchange.

In September 2008 there were rumours of his defaulting status, yet he satisfied me that his business was going well. But in October 2008, I read news about his default. Since the market was officially closed for more than 40 days, he told me that he would give me my shares after the opening of the market. My CDC balance sheet showed that all my shares had been transferred to Bagasrawala. I immediately contacted the KSE, but was informed that the broker had defaulted. I was asked to fill in a claim form and was offered Rs7 lakhs, which I refused.

The SECP did not take notice of the defaulted broker and after two years’ delay, the KSE informed that the member had defaulted.

The SECP sent me and other investors a letter in 2010, calling us for an inquiry. The corporate member took a stay order against the inquiry with the federation of Pakistan as the respondent and myself, Samar Irshad Sethi, as an intervener. It was a conspiracy to delay the issue. Finally the stay order was vacated with me as an intervener and inquiry was started.

For seven years, I regularly went to the SECP office in Karachi with written applications, for a copy of the inquiry. After submitting 27 applications in seven years, I suddenly received a letter in June 2018 that the report is confidential.

Is this not gross violation of the rights of a citizen? Without the inquiry report it is not possible for me to proceed further because I am also a party to the judgment order of the Sindh High Court.

I request the Chief Justice of Pakistan to take suo motu action against the SECP and make arrangements for recovery of shares of small investors such as myself.

Samar Irshad Sethi
Karachi

Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2018