The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has claimed that 28 million baht was transferred to the bank account of a company linked to People’s party MP Pawoot Pongvitayapanu in 14 transactions of two million baht each on July 18, 2024, but is insisting that the lawmaker is not regarded as a criminal suspect.
The claim was made by Pol. Cpt. Khemachart Prakaihongmanee, chief of the Technology and Information Cases Division of the DSI at a press conference yesterday, which was also attended by representatives of the Bank of Thailand, the Cybercrime Investigation Bureau and Central Institute of Forensic Science.
Pawoot, however, explained that he opened a bank account for online gold trading and the 28 million baht mentioned by the DSI were investment funds for gold trading through brokers and were not part of a forex fraud, currently being investigated by the DSI.
He insisted that he is ready to prove his innocence.
Pawoot also said that, before entering politics, he was engaged in several businesses, including e-commerce, online payment services and acting as consultants for both local and foreign customers.
DSI Director General Yutthana Praedam told the news conference that, on June 16, DSI officials and police raided 24 locations in Bangkok and neighbouring provinces linked to a major forex fraud network and seized a large quantity of valuables, including 65 million baht in cash, 15 cars, five super cars, jewellery, gold ornaments, 12kg of silver in bars and 55 computers.
He said the DSI has, so far, identified 500 victims of the forex fraud, but he believes there are more.
He said that the suspects in the forex fraud include the brokers who opened web pages to invite the public to invest in forex trading, the companies which recommend or teach potential investors how to invest in forex trading and the companies which engage in money transfers.
He said that Pawoot, who was connected by the fact that 28 million baht was transferred to a company bank account linked to him, is not yet a criminal suspect. He maintains that the revelation of Pawoot’s connection is not politically motivated because of his opposition to the controversial ‘TH-AI Passport’ project.
Khemachart, meanwhile, said that the DSI had been investigating the suspected forex fraud, scam operations and online gambling for about six months before the raid on June 16.
Regarding the 28 million baht linked to Pawoot, he said that the DSI had found that the money was transferred from the account of ‘ALPFX’ to the account of ‘Spark Digital’, which is linked to Pawoot. He explained that Pawoot’s connection to that business does not mean he has done anything illegal.
He said that the DSI has, so far, frozen the bank accounts of 57 individuals and 20 legal entities.
