The Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, announced civil penalty action against three offenders for jointly creating price or trading volume in the shares of Food and Drinks Public Company Limited, or F&D, ordering payment of civil penalties totaling 6,801,026.48 baht, along with bans on trading securities or derivatives and on serving as directors or executives. The three offenders are Mrs. Sompong Srisuphornwong, Miss Peechaya Krimwongrat, and Mr. Peerapon Prasertchaikul, who had personal connections to an intermediary who has since died. They jointly created the price or trading volume of F&D shares between August 9, 2022 and March 8, 2023, knowingly acting together to trade through the intermediary. The SEC received information from the Stock Exchange of Thailand in May 2023 and further investigation found trading orders that were coordinated and mutually supportive, including pushing the price higher, dominating buy or sell orders, splitting orders into smaller ones, matching trades with each other, and submitting buy orders before the market close with the aim of pushing the closing price higher, causing the price and trading volume of F&D shares to deviate from normal market conditions. The Civil Penalty Consideration Committee resolved to apply civil penalties to all three offenders, requiring Mrs. Sompong to pay a total of 803,314.66 baht, Miss Peechaya to pay 1,057,387.16 baht, and Mr. Peerapon to pay 4,940,324.66 baht. All three are banned from trading securities or derivatives for 11 months and from serving as directors or executives of securities-issuing companies or securities companies for 22 months. The measures will take effect as specified in the consent records signed by the offenders. If they do not consent, the SEC will write to prosecutors to file a case with the Civil Court to impose civil penalties at the maximum rate prescribed by law, but not lower than the rate set by the Civil Penalty Consideration Committee. The civil fines and disgorgement of benefits obtained from the offenses are state revenue remitted to the Ministry of Finance.
Food and Drinks Public Company LimitedSEC fined three individuals for manipulating F&D shares and banned them from trading, a regulatory enforcement action tied to the company's stock.
