Following the referrals from the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) in 2018 – 2019 and the SEC’s further investigation, it was found that the 17 offenders were connected through personal relationships, financial transactions, or links with related parties, as well as through the sources of securities trading orders and their trading behaviors. In this regard, (1) Miss Thunyarat Suksawad, (2) Mr. Kittiphat Suksawad, (3) Mr. Wallop Suksawat, (4) Mr. Khaneungnit Chinda, (5) Mrs. Wassana Viriyatornphan, (6) Miss Tasanee Wongjirat, (7) Miss Sunee Saelo, (8) Mr. Thitikorn Fookasem, (9) Mr. Saravut Udomtham, (10) Mrs. Sujit Udomtham, (11) Mr. Kraiwut Dittajorn, (12) Mrs. Amon Siriphanitchayakit, (13) Mr. Prasopsuk Sawatdee, (14) Mr. Thanaris Pornpattanajamsai, (15) Miss Audcharapron Radchanajun, and (16) Mr. Phuthitorn Tamthum acted with acknowledgment or pursuant to a mutual agreement to allocate roles among themselves in trading securities in a manner that misled the public regarding the price or trading volume of ECF securities. They placed orders consecutively and/or allowed other persons to place orders for ECF shares in their own securities trading accounts, in a coordinated and supportive manner to create artificial prices or trading volumes for ECF shares, with the intent to distort the price or trading volume from normal market conditions. In this regard, (17) Mr. Suppharoek Kwaennoi assisted or facilitated Thanaris and Audcharapron with the above actions taking place in three periods, depending on the cases, as follows:
Incident Period 1: During 24 August 2017 – 21 December 2017, the 16 offenders (namely, (1) Thunyarat, (2) Kittiphat, (3) Wallop, (4) Khaneungnit, (5) Wassana, (6) Tasanee, (7) Sunee, (8) Thitikorn, (9) Saravut, (10) Sujit, (11) Kraiwut, (12) Amon, (13) Prasopsuk, (14) Thanaris, (15) Audcharapron, and (16) Phuthitorn), allocated roles among themselves to manipulate the price or trading volume of ECF shares by placing orders in a manner that misled the public regarding the price or trading volume of the securities. The trades were executed consecutively with the intent to distort the price or trading volume of the securities from normal market conditions.
Incident Period 2: During 22 December 2017 – 23 April 2018, the 15 offenders (namely (1) Thunyarat, (2) Kittiphat, (3) Khaneungnit, (4) Wassana, (5) Tasanee, (6) Sunee, (7) (8) Saravut, (9) Sujit, (10) Kraiwut, (11) Amon, (12) Prasopsuk, (13) Thanaris, (14) Audcharapron, and (15) Phuthitorn) allocated roles among themselves to manipulate the price or trading volume of ECF shares by placing orders in a manner that misled the public regarding the price or trading volume of the securities. The trades were executed consecutively with the intent to distort the price or trading volume of the securities from normal market conditions. In this regard, Suppharoek assisted or facilitated Thanaris and Audcharapron with such actions.
Incident Period 3: During 24 April 2018 – 5 October 2018, the 14 offenders (namely, (1) Thunyarat, (2) Kittiphat, (3) Wallop, (4) Wassana, (5) Tasanee, (6) Sunee (7) Saravut, (8) Sujit, (9) Kraiwut, (10) Amon, (11) Prasopsuk, (12) Thanaris, (13) Audcharapron, and (14) Phuthitorn) allocated roles among themselves to manipulate the price or trading volume of ECF shares by placing orders in a manner that misled the public regarding the price or trading volume of the securities. The trades were executed consecutively with the intent to distort the price or trading volume of the securities from normal market conditions. In this regard, Suppharoek assisted or facilitated Thanaris and Audcharapron with such actions.
The actions by the 16 offenders (namely, (1) Thunyarat, (2) Kittiphat, (3) Wallop, (4) Khaneungnit, (5) Wassana, (6) Tasanee, (7) Sunee, (8) Thitikorn, (9) Saravut, (10) Sujit, (11) Kraiwut, (12) Amon, (13) Prasopsuk, (14) Thanaris, (15) Audcharapron, and (16) Phuthitorn) constitute an offense of colluding to manipulate securities price under Section 244/3(1)(2) in conjunction with Section 244/5 and/or Section 244/6(3), which shall be liable under Section 296, Section 296/1 and Section 296/2 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. The actions of Suppharoek constitute the offenses under Section 244/3(1)(2) in conjunction with Section 244/5 and Section 315 of the SEA, 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 17 offenders, comprising civil penalties, compensation in the amounts equal to the benefits received or that should have been received, reimbursements of the investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, and a bar from trading securities or derivatives and from serving as directors or executives of securities issuing companies or securities companies. Details of the civil sanctions are as follows:
(1) Miss Thunyarat Suksawad shall pay a civil penalty, compensation in the amount equal to the benefit received or that should have been received, and a reimbursement of investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 5,379,046 baht, and shall be prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 45 months, and from serving as director or executive for a period of 90 months;
(2) Mr. Kittiphat Suksawad shall pay a civil penalty and a reimbursement of investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 1,542,556 baht, and shall be prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 45 months, and from serving as director or executive for a period of 90 months;
(3) Mr. Wallop Suksawat shall pay a civil penalty, compensation in the amount equal to the benefit received or that should have been received, and a reimbursement of investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 38,652,217 baht, and shall be prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 28 months, and from serving as director or executive for a period of 56 months;
(4) Mr. Khaneungnit shall pay a civil penalty, compensation in the amount equal to the benefit received or that should have been received, and a reimbursement of investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 21,810,201 baht, and shall be prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 22 months, and from serving as director or executive for a period of 44 months;
(5) Mrs. Wassana Viriyatornphan shall pay a civil penalty, compensation in the amount equal to the benefit received or that should have been received, and a reimbursement of investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 32,439,901 baht, and shall be prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 31 months, and from serving as director or executive for a period of 62 months;
(6) Miss Tasanee Wongjirat shall pay a civil penalty, compensation in the amount equal to the benefit received or that should have been received, and a reimbursement of investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 13,677,611 baht, and shall be prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 28 months, and from serving as director or executive for a period of 56 months;
(7) Miss Sunee Saelo shall pay a civil penalty, compensation in the amount equal to the benefit received or that should have been received, and a reimbursement of investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 12,209,933 baht, and shall be prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 19.5 months, and from serving as director or executive for a period of 39 months;
(8) Mr. Thitikorn Fookasem shall pay a civil penalty, compensation in the amount equal to the benefit received or that should have been received, and a reimbursement of investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 51,944,600 baht, and shall be prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 11 months, and from serving as director or executive for a period of 22 months;
(9) Mr. Saravut Udomtham shall pay a civil penalty, compensation in the amount equal to the benefit received or that should have been received, and a reimbursement of investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 14,079,018 baht, and shall be prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 28 months, and from serving as director or executive for a period of 56 months;
(10) Mrs. Sujit Udomtham shall pay a civil penalty, compensation in the amount equal to the benefit received or that should have been received, and a reimbursement of investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 7,448,531 baht, and shall be prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 28 months, and from serving as director or executive for a period of 56 months;
(11) Mr. Kraiwut Dittajorn shall pay a civil penalty, compensation in the amount equal to the benefit received or that should have been received, and a reimbursement of investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 5,374,006 baht, and shall be prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 28 months, and shall be barred from serving as director or executive for a period of 56 months;
(12) Mrs. Amon Siriphanitchayakit shall pay a civil penalty, compensation in the amount equal to the benefit received or that should have been received, and a reimbursement of investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 10,104,518 baht, and shall be prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 28 months, and from serving as director or executive for a period of 56 months;
(13) Mr. Prasopsuk Sawatdee shall pay a civil penalty, compensation in the amount equal to the benefit received or that should have been received, and a reimbursement of investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 14,951,313 baht, and shall be prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 28 months, and from serving as director or executive for a period of 56 months;
(14) Mr. Thanaris Pornpattanajamsai shall pay a civil penalty, compensation in the amount equal to the benefit received or that should have been received, and a reimbursement of investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 21,841,493 baht, and shall be prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 28 months, and from serving as director or executive for a period of 56 months;
(15) Miss Audcharapron Radchanajun shall pay a civil penalty, compensation in the amount equal to the benefit received or that should have been received, and a reimbursement of investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 10,762,672 baht, and shall be prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 28 months, and from serving as director or executive for a period of 56 months;
(16) Mr. Phuthitorn Tamthum shall pay a civil penalty and a reimbursement of investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 1,542,556 baht, and shall be prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 28 months, and from serving as director or executive for a period of 56 months; and
(17) Mr. Suppharoek Kwaennoi shall pay a civil penalty and a reimbursement of investigative expenses incurred by the SEC, totaling 1,031,774 baht, and shall be prohibited from trading securities or derivatives for 12.5 months, and from serving as director or executive for a period of 25 months.
Civil sanctions imposed by the CSC will take effect once offenders sign a letter of consent, agreeing to comply with the sanctions. If any offenders refuse to consent, the SEC will submit the cases in writing to the public prosecutor for filing a lawsuit in the Civil Court to seek the maximum applicable civil sanctions, which must not be lower than those specified by the CSC.
Civil penalties and compensation for benefits received or that should have been received from committing offenses shall be remitted to the Ministry of Finance as public revenue.
Remark:
* Section 317/1 of the Securities and Exchange Act B.E. 2535 (1992), as amended by the Securities and Exchange Act (No. 5) B.E. 2559 (2016), allows for civil sanctions to be imposed for criminal offenses under this Act.
Details of civil sanctions and associated procedures are available at: https://www.sec.or.th/EN/pages/lawandregulations/civilpenalty.aspx