Allegations of Vote Rigging in Takaful Insurance’s AGM

Aug 23, 2025 5 min read

Allegations of vote rigging have surfaced in the 25th Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the listed company Takaful Islami Insurance PLC during the election of directors. One of the company’s sponsors, Md. Mofizuddin, has raised the allegation and formally demanded a recount of votes.

Recently, he submitted a written complaint to the Chairman of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC), seeking recounting of votes regarding the irregularities that took place in the AGM.

In his written complaint, Mofizuddin stated that in the 25th AGM of Takaful Islami Insurance, held on 16 August, an election for director was conducted where he contested as a sponsor director candidate. During the voting process, he claimed, various irregularities were carried out, and as a result, defeated candidates were announced as winners.

Allegations Raised by Mofizuddin

Vote timing manipulation: Initially, the AGM agenda stated that voting would be held 24 hours prior to the AGM. However, they were later informed that voting would take place between 12:00 PM and 1:00 PM. Following objections, another written correction was issued stating voting would indeed begin 24 hours prior to the AGM. In total, the voting schedule was changed three times, which Mofizuddin described as an attempt to stage a farcical election.
Delay in voting: According to the agenda, voting was supposed to begin at 11:00 AM. Instead, sponsor shareholders’ voting began after 3:30 PM, and general shareholders’ voting started more than six hours late.
Technical disruptions: He alleged that the server was deliberately slowed down, preventing many willing shareholders from casting their votes. The voting link frequently went down, making timely login impossible.
Irregular email communication: The email containing the voting link was not sent properly to many shareholders.
Venue controversy: Instead of holding the AGM and related meetings at the company’s office, the chairman organized them at his private residence, which Mofizuddin argued is unacceptable for a public limited company.
Conflict of interest in technical support: The company appointed to provide online voting support had its CEO operating the digital platform from Canada, raising further doubts.
Proxy voting manipulation: With the alleged help of the Election Commission, fake proxy votes were reportedly cast in favor of certain candidates.
Violation of corporate laws: During vote calculation, the company allegedly violated all relevant rules of the Companies Act, BSEC, IDRA, DSE, and CSE, by declaring losing candidates as winners.

Allegation of Declaring Fewer Votes

Mofizuddin further alleged that votes were illegally undercounted. He cited the BSEC directive dated March 10, 2011 (BSEC/CMRRCD/2009-193/08) and the Bangladesh Gazette (Law No. 218, dated June 9, 2024, Section 8, Sub-section 2, and Section 11, Sub-section 2), which explicitly outline the procedures for vote counting in elections of public limited insurance companies. He claimed that these laws were violated in Takaful Islami Insurance’s director election.

Specific Voting Figures

In the sponsor shareholder director election:
- Md. Mofizuddin received 3,704,247 votes.
- Abul Hashem received 2,129,338 votes.
- Md. Humayun Kabir Patowary received 1,477,594 votes.
- Mrs. Shahanaz Parvin received 1,532,587 votes.
- Redwan Kabir received 852,000 votes.
From these five BO accounts, a total of 9,695,766 votes were cast in favor of Abul Hashem, Md. Mofizuddin, Farzana Rahman, and Anwar Hossain Chowdhury.
- Abul Hashem should have received 10,973,360 votes.
- Md. Mofizuddin should have received 9,695,766 votes.
- Farzana Rahman should have received 9,695,766 votes.
- Anwar Hossain Chowdhury should have received 9,695,766 votes.
But in the declared results:
- Abul Hashem was shown with 8,812,805 votes (undercounted by 2,660,555).
- Md. Mofizuddin was shown with 7,535,211 votes (undercounted by 2,160,555).
- Farzana Rahman was shown with 7,535,211 votes (undercounted by 2,160,555).
- Anwar Hossain Chowdhury was shown with 7,535,211 votes (undercounted by 2,160,555).
In the public shareholder director election:
Seven BO accounts together cast 11,159,479 votes for Nafisa Salma and Mohammad Osman Gani. Both should have received equal votes. However:
- Nafisa Salma was shown with 8,812,805 votes (undercounted by 2,346,674).
- Mohammad Osman Gani was shown with 8,860,545 votes (undercounted by 2,298,934).

Allegation of Collusion

Mofizuddin alleged that despite investors voting for their preferred candidates, the election results were manipulated in collusion with Highsoft Corporation (the IT firm) and the Election Commission. He claimed proxy votes were combined and counted under the 10% category illegally, allowing defeated candidates to be declared as winners.

He further said this was not only illegal, but also a misinterpretation of the law to wrongfully take control of the company.

Mofizuddin’s Statement

When contacted, Md. Mofizuddin said:

“Investors voted for their chosen candidates in the company’s director election. But those who received more votes were illegally shown with fewer votes. As a result, defeated candidates were announced as winners. That’s why I demanded a recount. We are not asking for the votes to be canceled; we are only asking for an impartial recount.”