President and executive VP of TTA accused of fraud : source
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Two executives of Thoresen Thai Agencies Plc (TTA) including the company's president ML Chandchutha Chandratat may be in big trouble, as the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has accused them of acting above their scope of responsibility and fals
The DSI has concluded that their actions have cost the company Bt1.43 billion.
In a statment, TTA confirmed that DSI launched a probe into the company's management and submitted its opinion to the Attorney General's Office. In its capacity, the company said it will co-operate fully should the office require further information.
A source told Krungthep Turakij that DSI chief Tarit Pengdit has already submitted the accusation to prosecutors.
The accusation was based mainly on Chandchutha’s decision to buy shares and warrants of UMS Co Ltd prior to approval from TTA’s board of directors and shareholders.
Still, TTA said in the statement that the board approved the UMS takeover.
According to the source, Chandchutha and executive vice president Thitima Rungkwansiriroj have also been accused of falsifying UMS’s financial results to convince the board and shareholders of better-than-expected performance.
The source, who requested anonymity, said that the DSI launched the investigation in November and found that UMS share price spiked from Bt13 to Bt23 prior to the announcement of TTA’s takeover.
In October 2011, TTA announced the plan to buy shares and warrants of UMS for Bt4 billion.
The source added that the DSI found that after the announcement, the UMS share price plunged to Bt14.10 in January 2012. Meanwhile, against a net profit of Bt403 million in 2008, UMS reported net profits of only Bt88.3 million, Bt71.2 million and Bt60.5 million, respectively during 2009 and 2011.
Chandchutha could be charged with violating the Securities and Exchange Act BE2535, acting in violation of Articles 307, 309, 311 and 313.
