Thai energy tycoon faces fraud charges after record stock slump

Thailand’s stock market regulator has leveled allegations of fraud and corruption against the chief executive of Energy Absolute Pcl, the embattled renewable energy firm whose shares slumped by a record last month triggering a forced sale of a part of the founder’s stake pledged as collateral.

The charges against CEO Somphote Ahunai, Director Amorn Sapthaweekul and a third individual, Phornlert Techarattanopas, relate to Energy Absolute’s procurement of equipment from overseas and software for a solar power plant between 2013 and 2015, the Securities and Exchange Commission said in a statement late on Friday.

The accused allegedly colluded to procure items through two subsidiaries, resulting in benefits of about 3.5 billion baht ($97 million), the regulator said. Their actions breached several sections of Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Act of 1992, according to the statement.

The commission filed a case with the Department of Special Investigations and forwarded it to the Anti-Money Laundering Office for further legal action.

A spokesman for Absolute Energy didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.

The case against Somphote comes days after he sought to allay investor concerns about the financial health of Bangkok-listed Energy Absolute, which plunged by 51 per cent in June, its biggest monthly decline ever. Somphote, 57, lost his billionaire status after his net worth shrank from more than $4.8 billion two years ago in last month’s stock rout. Energy Absolute — down 70 per cent so far this year — is the worst-performer among almost 1,400 companies in the MSCI Asia Pacific Index.

Somphote’s stake in the company has dropped to slightly more than 30 per cent in the stock slide from about 40 per cent before the slump, forcing a foreign bank to sell some of his pledged shares to repay loans, he told a news conference early this month. The CEO and other major shareholders still own more than 50 per cent of the company, he said on July 1.

Energy Absolute, founded as a palm oil and biodiesel specialist, spent billions to build production facilities for batteries as well as buses, ferries and trains under the Mine brand, as the Thai government joined the global push for emission cuts.

Somphote has sought to replicate parts of Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. by building an integrated business with electricity generation, battery production, car manufacturing and charging-point installation. Energy Absolute has also invested in assembly of electric trains, ferries and buses — borrowing heavily to fund the CEO’s dreams.

The aggressive expansion has hurt the company’s earnings and cashflow, and investors are wary of the outlook for EV industry with a raging price war and oversupply, according to Tiwa Shintadapong, president of Investors Association of Thailand.

Energy Absolute shares lost 4.4 per cent this week, valuing the company at $1.35 billion, down from a peak of about $10.8 billion in 2021.

The market regulator said the indictment of Somphote, Amorn, who is now the deputy CEO, and Phornlert is only the beginning of the criminal enforcement process. The SEC will continue to monitor the progress of the prosecution and fully cooperate with relevant agencies to support the enforcement of the law, it said.

As the alleged crime has occurred outside the country, SEC has coordinated and received assistance from several foreign regulatory agencies in the case, the regulator said.