Of the DPs, 14 are the members of Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) and one is the member of Chittagong Stock Exchange (CSE), said a SEC release yesterday.

"The clients' shares must be kept in the their accounts on the record/book closure date so that they can avail their due rights and benefits declared by the companies. But the DPs did not keep their clients' shares in their accounts," Mansur Alam, executive director of SEC, told the news agency.

Referring to the SEC rules, he said if the shares of clients were not kept in their accounts on record dates, they would be deprived of getting the declared benefits of the companies listed with the bourses.

But these DPs kept their clients' shares in the clearing accounts, which had deprived them of their due rights declared by the companies, Alam added.

He said the DPs admitted that it was an unintended mistake and distributed the due dividends or rights to the shareholders, who earlier were deprived of the announced benefits against their shares.

"We have warned them for not doing such mistake again," he added.

The DPs are: NR Islam & Co, Jamal Ahmed & Co, Zobaer & Co, AB & Co, LRK Securities Ltd, Sad Securities, PFI Securities Ltd, Kazi Firoz Rashid & Co, Dynamic Securities Consultants Ltd, Giasuddin Ahmed & Co, SNM Securities Ltd, Western Securities Investment Management Ltd, Shamsul Huda & Co, Arafat Securities, and Hedayetullah Securities Ltd.