The Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a criminal complaint with the Department of Special Investigation against Mr. Nantawat Sumraunhant, a capital market auditor at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Jaiyos Audit Co., Ltd., for failing to comply with auditing standards in his audits of STARK Corporation Public Company Limited and its subsidiaries. The SEC also resolved to revoke his approval as a capital market auditor for six years, setting a period from 1 April 2026 during which it will not accept any applications from him for auditor approval. Following its review of audit work for STARK’s 2019–2021 financial statements and two significant subsidiaries, Phelps Dodge International (Thailand) Limited and Adisorn Songkhla Co., Ltd., the SEC found serious failures in areas including risk assessment and audit planning, journal entry testing, analytical procedures, revising risk assessments of material misstatement, and forming the audit opinion. The SEC stated that the failures reflected a lack of sufficient appropriate audit evidence on trade and other current receivables, inventories, revenue from rendering services, and related costs, and that this non-compliance facilitated fraud and the falsification of STARK’s financial statements. It treated the conduct as an offense under Section 287 of the Securities and Exchange Act B.E. 2535 (1992) in connection with the audit of the 2021 financial statements. The SEC stated that the criminal process will proceed through investigation, prosecution, and court adjudication, and that it will monitor legal proceedings and cooperate with relevant agencies.
Thailand Securities & Exchange Commission 2026-03-31
Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission files criminal complaint against Deloitte auditor over STARK audit failures and bars reapproval for six years
The Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission has filed a criminal complaint against Mr. Nantawat Sumraunhant, a capital market auditor at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Jaiyos Audit Co., Ltd., for failing to comply with auditing standards in his audits of STARK Corporation Public Company Limited and key subsidiaries, and has revoked his approval as a capital market auditor for six years from 1 April 2026. The authority found serious deficiencies that resulted in insufficient audit evidence on key balance sheet and revenue items, which it said facilitated fraud and falsification of STARK’s financial statements and constituted an offense under Section 287 of the Securities and Exchange Act B.E. 2535 (1992).