The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has levied civil sanctions against Mr. Worawoot Ounjai and Miss Patcharapat Tongwaen for their involvement in the insider trading of COL shares. They are required to pay fines and are prohibited from holding director positions for designated durations.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has imposed civil sanctions on two individuals, Mr. Worawoot Ounjai and Miss Patcharapat Tongwaen, for colluding in the share purchases of COL Public Company Limited (COL) using inside information. As a result, the offenders are required to pay a total of 4,237,746 baht in civil penalties and are prohibited from serving as directors or executives of securities issuing companies or securities companies for specified periods.
According to the referral from the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and the SEC’s further investigation, it was found that Worawoot, a director at COL and the second largest major shareholder at the time, had knowledge of inside information. This information indicated that a subsidiary of Central Retail Corporation Public Company Limited (CRC) was in the process of acquiring all securities of COL at a price higher than the market price at the time, which would have a positive impact on the share price of COL. Subsequently, Worawoot and Patcharapat purchased COL shares through Patcharapat’s trading account before such inside information was disclosed to the SET on 14 September 2020.
The collusion between the individuals in insider trading of COL shares, with knowledge or possession of inside information, was considered a violation of Section 242(1) of the Securities and Exchange Act B.E. 2535 (1992), along with Section 83 of the Criminal Code. This is subject to penalties under Sections 296 and 296/2, as well as civil sanctions under Sections 317/4 and 317/5 of the same Act.
Source : SEC imposes civil sanctions on two offenders for colluding in the insider trading of COL shares