Current rules favour insider training, penalties too light

Sasithorn Ongdee’s dissatisfaction with the sanction against CP All’s vice chairman and others for using their privileged insight to make gains is of civic mind in calling for fair play. 

Mutual Fund Association chairwoman Voravan Tarapoom should also be praised for unprecedentedly pursuing aggressively the disgusting conduct in depriving other innocent shareholders of gains that should have accrued to them instead of those executives. 

The legally compromised fine of B30 million, which was equivalent to giving back the “cheated” amount, has no true element of justice and no deterrence against future wrongdoers for thinking of taking advantage of other shareholders. 

This misdeed will go on with better methods of trying not to be caught and, even if they’re caught, the gain has to be given back with no risk of a prison term. The environment favours insider trading.

Another sickening part is to read of the lack of remorse from the culprit because he believed that he made an “honest” mistake. A mistake can be intentional or unintentional and in the eyes of the regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), it was intentional, otherwise there would have been no criminal charge. 

If no fine was paid, the matter would go to the Department of Special Investigation for further investigation to be prosecuted in the Criminal Court for fines and prison terms. What is the choice? Of course, to give up the gain wrongly earned! I simply cannot stand double-talk.

In her conclusion, Sasithorn called for a more positive role from the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) in pursuing wrongdoing executives of listed companies. That statement needs correction. The SET was given credit for taking the CP All case to the SEC for prosecution over the misdeed so obviously shown in April 2013. 

Under the law, the SET has no right to prosecute anyone – it has to go through the SEC in all cases. It took the SEC two-and-a-half years to file the charges. In fairness, Sasithorn owes the SET an apology.

Songdej Praditsmanont