Public prosecutors have decided to indict 16 key members of the iCon Group Company, including its CEO Waratphol Waratvorakul and former TV personality Kan Kantathavorn, as well as the corporate entity itself.
They did, however, decide to drop charges against two other celebrities, Yuranunt Pamornmontri and Peechaya Wattanamontree, due to lack of sufficient evidence.
All 18 key members and the company have been charged with defrauding the public, operating direct sales business without a permit, violations of the Computer Crime Act and operating a direct marketing business, with promises to reward investors who recruit new investors (a pyramid scheme), all causing damage estimated at about 650 million baht.
All 18 suspects have already served the maximum 84-day detention before indictment permissible by law.
Spokesman for the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG), Sakkasem Neesaiyoke, said today that the prosecutors will ask the Criminal Court to order the release of Yuranunt and Peechaya.
The case file and the prosecutors’ decision will be submitted to the Department of Special Investigation for consideration, said Sakkasem.
Charnchai Chalanonniwat, a senior prosecutor at the OAG, said that, if the DSI agrees with the prosecutors’ decision to drop charges against the two celebrities, the cases against them will be closed.
