SECP casts wider net in SE Fruits Probe, turns to Banks, Lead Managers and CDC

November 07, 2026 (MLN): The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) has asked seven banks for the export records of SE Fruits and Vegetable Limited, formerly Shaheen Enterprises, as its investigation into the company's withdrawn initial public offering widens.

The regulator has also asked 30 banks for details of foreign remittances, export proceeds and other foreign-exchange receipts in accounts held by the company's sponsors and directors, sources told Mettis Global. Some banks have responded, and their submissions are under review.

The requests suggest the inquiry is testing a central claim of the SE Fruits story that it is an export business. Bank records of export proceeds are the most direct way to check reported export revenue against money actually received.

The prospectus describes SE Fruits as a Sargodha-based exporter of kinnow and mangoes, selling mainly to the Middle East, and says it took over the business of Shaheen Enterprises, an association of persons, from July 1, 2025. Its financial history before the IPO is largely the audited record of that partnership.

The bank requests cover both sides of that history: the company's own export receipts, and foreign-exchange inflows into the personal accounts of its sponsors and directors.

The SECP formally initiated the investigation on October 21, under Section 29 of the SECP Act, 1997, read with Section 139 of the Securities Act, 2015.

It has received information from the IPO's joint lead managers, Topline Securities Limited and Growth Securities (Private) Limited, which were also the underwriters, each committing to 2.625 million shares. A response from Parker Russell–A.J.S., the consultant to the issue, is under review.

The investigation team is examining the IPO application and the company's shareholder information. The Central Depository Company (CDC) first provided a list of investors. The SECP then asked for shareholder lists and share-transfer histories of the people named in the prospectus.

CDC's response, received on November 2, was partial and remains under review.

The company's auditor, Ilyas Saeed & Co., Chartered Accountants, asked for more time to provide the information and records requested. The SECP granted the extension.

Ilyas Saeed & Co. audited the company's FY26 financial statements and certified the shareholding and break-up value figures used in the prospectus.

How the IPO unravelled

SE Fruits planned to offer 30 million new shares through book building at a floor price of Rs40, with a price band of up to Rs64. That would have raised Rs1.2 billion at the floor and up to Rs1.92 billion at the top of the band.

PSX approved the prospectus on September 7 and the SECP on September 9, and book building followed. In October, the SECP said it had found material discrepancies in the prospectus based on the company's audited financial statements, and halted the offering. The company withdrew the IPO and said it would reapply with enhanced disclosures. Subscription money has since been refunded to IPO applicants.

The widening of the probe means the questions now extend beyond the prospectus to the company's bank records, its share register and the firms that brought it to market.

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