According to the State Securities Commission, Ms. Bui Thi Phuong Thuy, residing in Hanoi, directly manipulated shares of Phuong Anh International Joint Stock Company (PAS) from early 2021 to late 2022. Ms. Thuy used 19 accounts for continuous buying and selling to create artificial supply and demand, influencing prices. These accounts were lent by 16 individuals, primarily from Hanoi, Hung Yen, and Bac Ninh.
PAS shares experienced strong fluctuations during the manipulation. Starting around 10,000 dong in early 2021, the market price at one point surged to 25,000 dong, then plummeted 5 times within half a year. Since late 2022, the shares have consistently traded below par value.
The State Securities Commission reported no illicit gains from Ms. Thuy's violations. However, the agency fined Ms. Thuy 1.5 billion dong and banned her from securities trading and holding positions at securities companies and investment funds for two years. The remaining 16 individuals received similar sanctions, excluding the monetary fine.
According to regulations, the highest administrative penalty in the securities sector is a permanent ban from trading and holding positions.
The State Securities Commission has recently uncovered numerous stock manipulation cases. A common finding across these cases is that the market regulator does not record illicit gains after inspections.
Late last year, the agency fined an individual in Ho Chi Minh City for using 92 accounts to continuously buy and sell AGG shares of An Gia Investment and Real Estate Development Joint Stock Company (AGG). Recently, singer Khanh Phuong was fined 100 million dong for selling shares of Song Da 1.01 Joint Stock Company (SJC) without prior notification as a member of the company's board of directors.
Phuong Dong
