The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has imposed heavy fines on the top executive and a former executive of Inter Fareast Energy Corporation (IFEC) for insider trading.

SEC said it had received complaints from several shareholders of the company to probe the conduct of Mr Supanan Rithpairote, chief executive officer and director of IFEC and Mr Thanawat Chansuwan, former executive of the same company, who were suspected of engaging in insider trading.

The two attended a board meeting on November 1, 2016 and were fully aware of the financial problem of the company and both of them allegedly unloaded their own shares in the company in the stock market to cut loss from share devaluation.

The two executives were ordered by SEC to pay fines and profits from the sale of their shares from insider trading worth altogether 25 million baht.

Moreover, SEC has demanded that Mr Supanan be removed from the executive of IFEC on ground that he is not trustworthy to stay on in the management of the company.