SEC takes Polaris bosses to civil court

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has proceeded with civil litigation against two executives of Polaris Capital Plc (POLAR) on the grounds of information concealment and the company halting business operations.

The market regulator requested the Civil Court impose a 2-million-baht fine on Yannakorn Warakunrak and Poonsak Chumchuay, two executives at Polaris, and bar them from becoming directors at listed companies for 10 years.

The SEC also seeks to impose civil litigation and a 2-million-baht penalty on Polaris Capital.

The grounds for litigation are Mr Yannakorn and Mr Poonsak’s failure to inform the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) and the SEC when the company was sued by its creditors for bankruptcy on May 8, 2017, and when the Central Bankruptcy Court ordered the company into a receivership on Aug 3, 2017.

The company only reported these developments on Aug 9, when the SEC and the SET demanded Polaris do so.

The SEC is also questioning whether a debt owed by Tangerine Property Ltd, Polaris’ subsidiary, to Simba Co Ltd exists. For this, the SEC asked officials associated with the receivership authority to manage Polaris’ assets in order to ensure that the company’s assets are not transferred before an investigation is completed.

Polaris faces a possible de-listing from the SET as the company’s assets have been placed into receivership by the Central Bankruptcy Court.

Polaris was already subject to de-listing on Nov 14, 2017 because it failed to submit its first quarterly financial statements of 2017 within 180 days.

The company stated earlier it could not prepare and submit the financial statements for last year’s first quarter because of its receivership status. As a result, a shareholders’ meeting could not be held to appoint auditors and establish the audit fee.

In May 2017, Polaris informed the SET it had filed a business rehabilitation petition, which was later withdrawn.

The firm was later discovered to be under a court-ordered receivership, which significantly affects its shareholders’ rights.

POLAR shares have been suspended from trading since March 1, 2017 for Polaris’ f ailure t o submit financial statements and provide explanations for i nvestments, i ncluding the purchase of land on Phahon Yothin Road and the cancellation of an investment in Day Poet Co Ltd, the publisher of A Day and Hamburger magazines.