Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced civil sanctions against 14 individuals for colluding to manipulate the price or trading volume of Yong Concrete Public Company Limited (YONG) shares. The sanctions require payments totaling THB 77,869,111.08, comprising civil penalties, compensation for benefits received or that should have been received, and reimbursement of investigation costs. All 14 also face trading suspensions and restrictions on serving as directors or executives.
Following a referral from the Stock Exchange of Thailand, the investigation found that the individuals coordinated orders during the morning session before trading opened on August 2, 2022, YONG’s first trading day. Connected through personal and financial relationships, they alternated buy and sell orders through their own accounts and those of other participants, misleading the public about the shares’ price or trading volume. Successive orders were intended to raise the opening price to a level inconsistent with normal market conditions.
Each individual faces suspension from trading securities or derivatives for 8.5 months and a prohibition on serving as a director or executive at a securities issuing company or securities company for 17 months. These restrictions will take effect as specified in the letters consenting to the sanctions. If an individual refuses to settle, the SEC will ask the public prosecutor to seek civil sanctions in court at the maximum statutory rates, no lower than those prescribed by the Civil Sanctions Committee.