US regulators say a resident of Thailand has agreed to pay USD 5.2 million to settle civil charges of trading on inside knowledge of a proposed takeover bid for Smithfield Foods Inc. By a big Chinese company.
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement today with Badin Rungruangnavarat, an employee of a Thai plastics company. The SEC accused him in June of making USD 3.2 million in illegal profits by using knowledge of the proposed Smithfield takeover before it was announced publicly on May 29.
The agency says the man bought options and futures contracts on Smithfield stock in the week preceding the announcement and reaped a profit when the stock price rose afterward.
Rungruangnavarat neither admitted nor denied the allegations. He is paying USD 3.2 million in restitution and a USD 2 million fine.
