On April 22, 2026, at the Criminal Court on Ratchadaphisek Road, after public prosecutors filed a lawsuit against Ms. Puntharee Isarankura na Ayudhya, Chief Executive Officer of Global Service Center Public Company Limited (GSC), as the first defendant, and Mr. Amrit Klomchitcharoen, Chief Executive Officer of More Return Public Company Limited (MORE), as the second defendant in the said case, the court issued a detention warrant. Subsequently, both defendants filed a petition along with surety for temporary release during trial proceedings.
For the first defendant, Ms. Puntharee, the court considered the seriousness of the charges and the circumstances of the case and found, according to the investigation report from the Department of Special Investigation appearing in the case file, that the first defendant had a close relationship with the second defendant, who belonged to the group of masterminds who jointly planned the stock trading. There was significant communication and financial linkage between them. Therefore, there is reasonable ground to believe she was involved in the wrongdoing, which is considered serious. If granted temporary release, flight risk exists. The court thus ordered not to grant temporary release and dismissed the petition.
As for the second defendant, Mr. Amrit, the court, considering the investigation report from the Department of Special Investigation, found that the second defendant belonged to a group of masterminds who collectively formulated strategies and planned stock trading with the intent to create misunderstanding about stock price and trading volume in the stock market. This impacted the broader economic system and undermined confidence in the securities trading system. The actions are thus considered serious, and there is reasonable ground to believe he is a flight risk if temporary release is granted.
Regarding the reason cited in the petition about illness, the court viewed that the second defendant can still exercise his right to receive medical treatment according to the regulations of the Department of Corrections. Therefore, the court ordered not to grant temporary release and dismissed the petition as well.
The MORE Return Pcl scandal is one of the most high-profile stock manipulation cases in recent Thai history. In November 2022, a massive and suspicious “pump-and-dump” scheme unfolded when a single major shareholder placed massive buy orders for MORE shares at the market opening, which were matched by sell orders from related parties. When the buyer failed to pay for the shares, it left over 10 securities firms facing a combined loss of approximately 4.5 billion baht, as they were legally obligated to settle the trades with the clearinghouse despite the buyer’s default.
The investigation led by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) revealed a highly coordinated conspiracy involving dozens of individuals. Authorities discovered that the group used “nominee” accounts and artificial trading volumes to inflate the stock price before the planned default.
Consequently, the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) froze billions in assets, and the SEC filed criminal complaints against the perpetrators for market manipulation and fraud. This case sparked a major overhaul of trading regulations and margin loan requirements in the Thai capital market to prevent such systemic risks from happening again.
