Staff Correspondent

After five years of 'harassment', the Anti-Corruption Commission may have dropped its contentious case, but efforts to hinder bdnews24.com's progress persist, according to the news publisher's Editor-in-Chief Toufique Imrose Khalidi.

Despite being cleared of all charges, he noted that the process of registering share transfers for investments at the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies and Firms (RJSC) remains on hold due to lingering allegations.

As bdnews24.com celebrated its 18th anniversary at a comfortable gathering on Wednesday, Khalidi spoke about the myriad obstacles and challenges punctuating the journey, including undue pressure from 'corrupt' politicians and 'rogue' business figures.

bdnews24.com's legal woes began in October 2019 when asset management firm LR Global Bangladesh invested Tk 500 million in the country's first standalone 24/7 news outlet, making it a prime target for regulatory bodies.

The authorities promptly clamped down on the news publisher after it announced the investment in a report on Oct 13, 2019, outlining its plans to spend the money on the expansion of news automation and creativity.

Subsequently, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) blocked the share transfer, while the ACC impugned the transaction's validity by raising charges of corruption.
The corruption case was eventually dropped in September 2024. Yet, Khalidi was at pains to point out that the 'harassment' had not stopped entirely.

"The registration of the share transfer from the investment five years ago has still not been completed by the RJSC."

He emphasised that bdnews24.com was transparent and forthcoming about the details of the investment, including the amount and its purpose, which were fully disclosed on the day it was made.

"Within a few hours of the disclosure, the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission convened a meeting and sent a directive to the RJSC instructing them to halt the deal and not to register the investment. The registration process remains incomplete to this day."

Khalidi also reflected on some of the low points during the five-year ordeal and revealed that a commissioner from the ACC had confessed to him that they had been compelled into taking the most 'reprehensible' steps against him during their tenure.

"Many officials have told me those were among the worst things they'd ever done. It's a grave injustice," he said.

He continued: "The lawyer who used to malign me later admitted to me, with folded hands, that the charges against me were false, and that the case was baseless and ought to have been dismissed. Although the case has been dropped, our registration at the RJSC is still pending."

Khalidi believes individuals associated with certain "unscrupulous businessmen" may be responsible for the ongoing challenges facing the news publisher.

"Although there have been some changes at the top [following the government changeover], the rogue businessmen and their allies remain active in various regulatory bodies."

"Coerced by intelligence agencies, false testimonies were given to serve their interests. These testimonies were used to fabricate a report, which was used as a stick to beat us with."

Khalidi pointed out that it was not bdnews24.com's job to oversee the activities of an investing company and emphasised that there was no misconduct at any stage of the investment process.

"A company was coerced into providing false testimony. Based on that, a report was created, and that's what has caused us problems," he said.

Drawing from his experience in investigative journalism, Khalidi said he gained significant insight into who was responsible for undermining bdnews24.com behind the scenes.

He questioned why no action was taken against the company responsible for providing "false testimonies" over the valuation of bdnews24.com’s parent company before the investment.

Despite the CEO's resignation, Khalidi accused the company's new leadership of "continuing the lies".

"In today's digitised business world, banks send auto-generated emails that require no responses or signatures," Khalidi said.

"In this case, the communication that took place in the form of emails exchanged through the official accounts of different offices was not accepted. Subsequently, another company conducted an independent valuation, which was also rejected. It was claimed that there were no signatures on these documents. So, what about those emails?"

Although a joint investigation committee was formed by the ACC and BSEC, Khalidi alleged that the then-BSEC chairman was 'determined' not to release the panel's report.

Before LR Global, a major New York-based foundation had expressed interest in investing in bdnews24.com, according to Khalidi.

"They were ready and willing to invest. However, their board eventually decided against investing in Bangladesh. They had chosen our company based on the same valuation [used in the LR Global transaction]. We kept in touch with the valuation company and informed them when we were in talks with another foreign company. Their CEO even offered to attend meetings."

LR Global eventually invested in bdnews24.com based on their own valuation, according to Khalidi.

He explained that even before the five years of public harassment began, there were 'targeted campaigns' aimed at damaging bdnews24.com’s revenue streams.

"The investing company also took advantage of our vulnerability. We were forced to transfer shares at a third of their valuation price. To this day, the formal transfer process remains incomplete due to a directive from the BSEC stating 'this cannot be done.'"

Khalidi maintains there were no irregularities or legal breaches on bdnews24.com's part. If any laws were broken, it was by 'someone else'.

"It is the regulator's duty, in this case, the Securities and Exchange Commission, to investigate. However, the BSEC does not regulate us [as bdnews24.com is a private limited company, not a publicly traded one]. They regulate others. Yet, the BSEC violated numerous rules and instructed us to refund the money. We appealed to the High Court, which ruled in our favour."

Despite facing numerous adversities, Khalidi noted that the judicial system has come to bdnews24.com's aid on many occasions.

Asked about the potential for a turnaround from the current plight, Khalidi said, "For those of us who want to fight, there is always a chance to bounce back. The opportunity to recover is still there; it always is. There are still some obstacles. We hope and believe that these will be resolved very soon."

However, the lack of understanding about how a private limited company should be valued could pose hurdles down the line, he warned.

"Consider this: shares of Akij worth Tk 100 were sold to Japan Tobacco for Tk 641,000 each, so how would you assess its valuation? The matching of paid-up capital with valuation matters for listed companies, which are publicly traded. For a private company, it's not relevant. If you don't grasp this basic concept, I believe you're pretending not to understand."

Despite the change of government, Khalidi expressed frustration at the fact that those associated with the 'unscrupulous businessmen' have continued to create problems.

"Actually, no one wants to take responsibility for wrongdoings. The culprits run away and disappear. A group of influential politicians and powerful, unscrupulous businessmen colluded against us. Unfortunately, their affiliates are still active."