Bangkok Airways (PG, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) CEO and Vice-Chairman Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth resigned from his functions on January 21, 2019, after Thailand's Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) has fined him and two other persons for share price manipulation.
"In view of the good corporate governance principle, Mr. Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth and [Executive Secretary] Mrs. Narumon Chainaknan tendered their resignations from the aforesaid positions effective from 21 January 2019," the Thai regional carrier said in a statement.
The SEC earlier fined Prasert, Narumon, and Poramaporn Prasarttong-Osoth for share price manipulation through repetitive trading between the three individuals. Besides a collective fine of THB499.5 million bahts (USD14.2 million), all three were banned from holding executive or director positions at any Thai stock market-listed company.
"During 13 November 2015 - 12 January 2016, Prasert, Poramaporn and Narumon executed trading transactions of BA shares in group and on a continuing basis, and matched trading orders among themselves while concealing their trading activities to mislead the public regarding the share price and trading volume of BA. Consequently, the BA price and trading volume became inconsistent with normal market conditions," the SEC said in a statement.
The SEC did not establish whether and how much the actions by the three shareholders did influence the stock market valuation of the airline.
If any of the three fined individuals do not comply with the order, the SEC can bring further legal actions against them.
The carrier said in a statement that both Prasert and Naruemon will appeal the fine and try to prove their innocence through judicial means.
Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth currently holds a 10.6% stake in the airline. He is also the co-founder of Bangkok Dusit Medical Services, Thailand's largest private hospital operator, and owns a number of real estate projects. With an estimated USD3.2 billion net worth, he was ranked by Forbes as the eight richest Thai in 2018.
Poramaporn Prasarttong-Osoth owns a 6.5% stake in the airline, while Naruemon Chainaknaen holds less than 2% of shares. The airline's largest shareholder is Prasert's son Puttipong, who holds a 24.9% stake.
