The Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission has imposed civil sanctions on 11 individuals linked to trading in shares of L.P.N. Development Public Company Limited (LPN), covering purchases made while in possession of inside information and the use of securities trading accounts to conceal the identity of actual traders. The sanctions total THB 17,529,772 and include prohibitions on serving as directors or executives of securities issuers or securities companies for specified periods. The case followed a September 2020 referral from the Stock Exchange of Thailand and an SEC investigation that identified material, non-public information about LPN’s 2020 interim dividend of THB 1 per share from retained earnings, described as the highest dividend since listing and above the 2015–2019 pattern of semi-annual dividends not exceeding THB 0.60 per share. The SEC found six instances of wrongdoing before disclosure to the exchange on 22 May 2020, including directors and executives trading through relatives’ accounts and one individual allowing others to use his account; the Civil Sanction Committee’s package includes civil penalties, compensation for benefits received or to be received, and reimbursement of investigation expenses, with individual payments ranging from THB 137,849 to THB 4,361,872 and director/executive bans ranging from four to 20 months. The sanctions take effect once the offenders sign agreements to comply; if they do not, the SEC will refer the matter to the public prosecutor to seek civil sanctions in the Civil Court, with statutory penalties not lower than those specified by the Civil Sanction Committee. Civil penalties and compensation are to be remitted to the Ministry of Finance as public revenue.

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