Two executives from the embattled International Engineering Plc (IEC) have been dismissed as a result of criminal charges brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The IEC yesterday informed the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) through its filing, stating two of the 25 people accused in the SEC's criminal complaints had been dismissed, as stipulated by the SEC Act prohibiting any person accused of a breach of trust to hold an executive position of a listed company. The two held positions of executive vice-president and assistant vice-president of operations.
"The dismissal of the aforementioned executives has no effect on company's operations," the IEC said in its statement.
"As for the SEC's accusation against 25 persons, the company cannot yet ascertain the effect on financial statements for each corruption-related project."
The IEC is consulting with an auditor regarding preparation of its financial statements.
"The company will report the progress of determining the effects on the financial statements in the future," said the statement.
The IEC is the latest listed company to receive a criminal complaint from the SEC.
The market regulator on Tuesday accused former IEC executives and their associates of reciprocated dishonest acts, asset misappropriation, seeking unlawful gains, and filing incorrect financial statements to lure investors to purchase shares of the company's subsidiaries along with construction contracts and machinery instalment purchases.
The SEC has made accusations on nine counts, with a preliminary damage estimate of more than 200 million baht.
The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has received the SEC's criminal complaint for further legal proceedings.
"The SEC's accusation however, is only the beginning of criminal law enforcement," the IEC said in a statement. "Ascertainment of guilt depends on the DSI's investigation procedures, the public prosecutor's prosecution and the court's discretion, respectively."
Meanwhile, the SET on Wednesday placed a notice pending sign on the IEC's share price, as the company was unable to appoint audit committee members within three months as required by SET regulations.
If the IEC is still unable to appoint such committee members by the stipulated deadline, the bourse will post a suspended trading sign on Feb 1, and the company could be de-listed.
