SEC shows its timidity

From the surface, the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) probe into seven listed firms over suspicions that some shareholders may be linked to an international scam network is a welcome move.

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Calling SEC's involvement proactive is a stretch. Allegations about these companies and their suspicious shareholders have circulated for months.

It took formal complaints, including a recent submission by the Democrat Party, to push authorities towards action.

Reactive enforcement masquerading as vigilance fools no one, least of all shaken investors.

The SEC's move follows the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) announcement last week that it had seized and frozen more than 10 billion baht in assets connected to a transnational scam syndicate.

Investigators suspect nominees were used to hide foreign criminal interests within Thai-listed companies, a scenario that strikes at the heart of economic security.

Confidence in Thailand's capital market is already at a low ebb.