Bangkok, 7 August 2020 – SEC has penalized a former investment consultant named Mr. Nattapong Saelee by prohibiting him from performing duties as capital market business personnel for seven years and six months on account of committing wrongful acts against investors’ assets. In this regard, he used eight investors’ money for unit subscription for his own benefit, causing the total damage of 449,500 baht. At the time of the offense, he was working at Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited.
According to Bangkok Bank’s complaint report and SEC’s further investigation, it was found that during the months of March and October 2017, Nattapong, then a securities investment consultant at the bank, committed wrongful acts against investors’ assets by accepting the investors’ subscription money for mutual fund investments during off-business hours but not executing the subscription transactions as originally intended by the investors in the following business day. Instead, he spent the subscription money for his own benefit, causing the total damage of 449,500 baht to eight clients.
SEC has considered that Nattapong failed to perform duties with loyalty* by committing wrongful acts against the investors’ assets, which was an offense liable to revocation of approval as securities investment consultant. However, the approval as securities investment consultant for Nattapong has already expired since 31 December 2018. SEC has therefore prohibited him from re-entering as capital market business personnel for a period of seven years and six months, effective from 8 August 2020.
In addition, SEC has found that this misconduct had been partially caused by Mrs. Prapai Songserm, the bank’s branch manager at the time, whose negligence in supervising that her subordinate strictly comply with the bank’s regulations led to opportunities for committing the misconduct. Prapai’s act was deemed a failure to comply with the Notification of the Capital Market Supervisory Board.** SEC has therefore prohibited Prapai from performing duties as branch manager in charge of capital market business and suspended her approval as investment consultant for Complex Instruments Type 2*** and investment planner for one month and 10 days. However, the bank had already penalized Prapai by prohibiting her from performing duties related to provision of services for sales of securities products from 17 January 2020 to 16 April 2020, which exceeded the sanction period imposed by SEC. Therefore, it is deemed that Prapai has already served SEC’s sanction in full.
In considering a punitive measure, SEC takes into consideration the following factors: related roles and behaviors of the person(s) under consideration, the penalty already served, the impacts, damage or benefits generated, rectification or other actions benefiting or hindering SEC’s operation, and the record or other past behaviors demonstrating inappropriateness for acting as capital market business personnel.
Investors intending to subscribe for investment units of mutual funds are strongly advised to always verify transaction confirmation documents to make sure that they are truly issued by the banks or the asset management companies in charge, and to update their fund books (if any) in the following business day to prevent damage that may be caused by failure to comply with the regulations on duty performance.
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Notes:
* Pursuant to Clause 23(1) and the prohibited characteristics of personnel in the capital market business under Clause 31(1) of the Notification of the Capital Market Supervisory Board No. Tor Lor Thor. 8/2557 Re: Rules on Personnel in the Capital Market Business dated 3 June 2014, as amended by the Notification of the Capital Market Supervisory Board No. Tor Lor Thor. 48/2560 Re: Rules on Personnel in the Capital Market Business (No. 7) dated 30 August 2017.
** The prohibited characteristics of capital market business personnel under Clause 31(2) of the Notification of the Capital Market Supervisory Board No. Tor Lor Thor. 8/2557, as amended by the Notification of the Capital Market Supervisory Board No. Tor Lor Thor. 48/2560, and prohibited from performing duties as other personnel in capital market business as approved by SEC under Clause 30(4)(a) of the Notification of the Capital Market Supervisory Board No. Tor Lor Thor. 8/2557, as amended.
*** An investment consultant for Complex Instruments Type 2 is allowed to give advice to investors about capital market products with non-complex features and investment units or debt securities with high risks or complexity, e.g., investment units of mutual funds for institutional investors or ultra-high net worth investors, investment units of mutual funds investing in derivatives, hybrid products, and structured notes.