The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) yesterday posted a "suspend trading" sign on shares of Group Lease Plc (GL), as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) demanded the company amend its financial statements after a regulatory scandal.
The bourse suspended trade of GL securities pending information on how the company plans to amend inaccurate financial statements. GL is being probed by the Department of Special Investigation after the SEC's criminal filing.
"The SET will allow trading on GL's securities and post a notice pending sign from the morning session of Oct 24 until GL submits the revised information to the SEC," the SET said in a release. "As a result, the SET requests investors to carefully study GL's information and financial statements before making investment decisions."
On Thursday, the SEC told GL that if the company did not urgently amend its financial statements, this might be considered a violation of Section 56 of the SEC Act.
The regulator said that if the company's directors did not amend the financial statements and presented false or inaccurate financial statements, this could be deemed a failure to comply with Section 312 of the SEC Act.
SET-listed GL's share price fell recently amid the ongoing regulatory scandal. GL is a digital finance company specialising in hire purchase for Japanese motorcycle brands.
Earlier, the SEC filed a criminal complaint against former GL chief executive Mitsuji Konoshita, alleging fraud, misappropriation of company assets and falsification of accounting through concealed transactions involving associated overseas companies. The SEC said concealed transactions were made through several associated companies abroad to exaggerate GL's operating results.
The regulator pointed to evidence that Group Lease Holding Co Ltd (GLH), a subsidiary of GL based in Singapore, had issued loans to four registered companies in Cyprus and another in Singapore worth US$54 million (1.78 billion baht), with Mr Konoshita serving as the controller and ultimate benefactor.
After receiving the loans from GLH, the five debtor companies transferred the money within companies of the lender's group to repay the interest and principal to GLH in an instalment, the SEC said.
The interest payments were recorded as income in GLH's financial statements, constituting fabrication of GL's accounting records and exaggeration of its operating results, according to the SEC.
