Two television celebrities were indicted in the Criminal Court today on five counts related to the Icon Group fraud scandal back in October 2024.
Yuranunt Pamornmontri and Peechaya Wattanamontree were charged with defrauding the public, engagement in fraudulent lending business and involvement in a direct sales business without a licence.
The two were released, each on one million baht bail, on the condition that they do not leave the country without the court’s consent.
Public prosecutors had previously decided to drop charges against both of them, due to insufficient evidence, but Pol Maj Yutthana Praedam, director-general of the Department of Special Investigation, objected. The case then went to the attorney-general who, in February, ruled that the two should be indicted.
In her interview via TikTok, Peechaya said that she has been keeping a low profile since January this year, after the prosecutors initially decided to drop the charges against her and Yuranunt.
She admitted that she was shocked to be appearing before the court today to defend herself. She claimed that she worked as an employee of the Icon Group for just one and a half years, but is being accused of involvement in the company’s business for 6-7 years.
The Icon Group was registered as a direct sales business and had hired several celebrities to promote its products to customers who were duped into investing in the company with promises of high returns if they could recruit new investors. Police, however, concluded that the company was actually operating a Ponzi scheme.
Seventeen executives and key staff members have been prosecuted and/or incarcerated, among them are its boss, Waratphol Waratvorakul, and TV personality Kan Kantathavorn.
