The trial has begun in Bangladesh of thirty-four prominent members of the financial and business community who are accused of insider trading and manipulating the stock market.

The charges arise out of what's been described as a one-hundred million dollar share scam in 1996 when hundreds of thousands of small investors lost money - in many cases their life savings -- as share prices were driven artificially high and then collapsed.

Those accused include the current and former chairmen of the Dhaka Stock Exchange.Since then, the financial authorities have introduced a number of reforms to try to restore public confidence and attract more foreign investment.