According to the referral from the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) in April 2024 and the SEC’s further investigation, it was found that on 22 January 2024 at 14.00 hours, JKN, led by Jakkaphong, CEO and Managing Director with the authority to report information about JKN, disclosed through the SET Electronic Listed Company Information System (SETLink) as ordered by SET, a clarification regarding the news appearing on online media that JKN had sold its business of Miss Universe Organization (MUO) to a Mexican billionaire, Mr. Raúl Rocha. The company clarified that it had been seeking and contacting various investors and had been studying the details of investment proposals from investors for some time, but had not yet reached a conclusion on the matter. 

In fact, however, during that time, JKN, through its subsidiary JKN Global Content Pte. Ltd., sold shares of JKN Legacy, Inc., a subsidiary that operated the MUO business and held the Miss Universe License, to Legacy Holding Group USA Inc. at the amount of 50 percent of the total shares. The sale agreement was signed on 20 October 2023. Additionally, it was revealed Mr. Raúl Rocha was CEO of Legacy Holding Group USA Inc. Therefore, the information published on SETLink by JKN was inaccurate or may have caused significant misunderstanding about JKN's information, which could impact investment decisions in JKN securities. 

JKN’s action was deemed a contravention of Section 240 of the Securities and Exchange Act B.E. 2535 (1992) (SEA), subject to the penalties under Paragraph 1 of Section 296 and Section 296/2 and the civil penalties under Section 317/4 and Section 317/5 of the SEA. Jakkaphong, as a person responsible for the operations of the legal entity, caused JKN to commit the aforementioned offense. He is therefore subject to the same penalty under Section 300 in conjunction with Section 240 of the SEA.   

The Civil Sanction Committee (CSC) has therefore resolved to impose a civil sanction on both offenders, comprising civil penalties and reimbursements of investigative expenses in the equal amount of 2,062,039 baht each, and prohibit Jakkaphong from serving as director or executive in securities issuing companies or securities companies for 56 months. 

The civil sanction imposed by the CSC will take effect when 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 sanction with the maximum applicable statutory penalties, which shall not be lower than the civil sanction specified by the CSC. 

In all cases, the civil penalties received or would have been received from the commission of offenses shall be remitted to the Ministry of Finance as public revenue.