Following a referral from the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) in May 2020 and the SEC’s further investigation, it was found that during 6 December 2019 to 31 March 2020, nine individuals who were connected through personal relationships and financial transactions jointly manipulated the price or trading volume of VL securities by placing buy or sell orders or buying or selling VL securities in a manner that misled other persons about the price or trading volume of the securities. They placed orders continuously with the intent to distort the price or trading volume of the securities from normal market conditions. The nine offenders are: (1) Miss Neeranud Petchpradab, (2) Mr. Teerapong Porapha, (3) Miss Saovanee Nimisilp, (4) Mr. Yuttichai Pranee, (5) Mr. Supasit Pokinjaruras, (6) Miss Paranee Mekdumrongsang, (7) Mr. Bovorn Rungruangnavarat, (8) Mr. Natpapat Keschaimongkol, and (9) Mr. Pichet Permsubhirunya.    

In this regard, the nine offenders jointly committed the misconduct by allocating roles among themselves in trading VL securities in a manner that manipulated the price or trading volume of the securities. Their behavior included placing buy or sell orders for VL shares at similar prices, amount, and within a similar period of time, resulting in matched trades among themselves, placing large-amount buy orders at multiple price levels to obstruct purchasing of other investors, and submitting buy orders during pre-opening or pre-closing periods, as well as sending buy orders to push the prices higher. Their actions caused the VL share price to be inconsistent with normal market conditions.

The nine offenders’ acts above constitute offenses of jointly manipulating securities price and volume under Section 244/3(1)(2) in conjunction with Section 244/5 and Section 244/6 of the Securities and Exchange Act B.E. 2535 (1992) (“SEA”), (as the case may be), in conjunction with Section 83 of the Criminal Code, liable to the penalties under Section 296, Section 296/1 and Section 296/2 of the SEA.

The Civil Sanction Committee (CSC) has therefore resolved to impose civil sanctions on the nine offenders, as follows:    
          - Five offenders are required to pay a civil penalty, compensation in the amount equal to the benefit received or to be received, and reimbursement of the investigation expenses incurred by the SEC, as follows: Neeranud paying a total of 4,083,457 baht, Teerapong paying a total of 1,205,630 baht, Paranee paying a total of 1,311,747 baht, Bovorn paying a total of 1,308,472 baht, and Natpapat paying a total of 815,934 baht. Additionally, each of them is prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 17 months, and is barred from serving as director or executive of securities issuing companies and securities companies for 34 months;    
          - Three offenders, namely Saovanee, Yuttichai, and Pichet, are required to pay a civil penalty and a reimbursement of the investigation expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 532,315 baht each. Additionally, each of them is prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 17 months and is barred from serving as director or executive of securities issuing companies and securities companies for 34 months;
          - Supasit is required to pay a civil penalty and reimbursement of the investigation expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 532,315 baht, and is prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 22.5 months, and is barred from serving as director or executive of securities issuing companies and securities companies for 45 months. 

The civil sanctions imposed by the CSC will take effect after the offenders sign a letter of consent to comply. Otherwise, the SEC will submit the case to the public prosecutor for filing a lawsuit in the Civil Court to seek an imposition of civil sanctions with the maximum applicable statutory penalties, which shall not be lower than the civil sanctions specified by the CSC.     

Civil penalties and compensation for the benefits received or to be received from committing offenses shall be remitted to the Ministry of Finance as public revenue.