The Election Commission (EC) has ceased its investigation into the origin of the 3 million baht donation made to the Palang Pracharath party by Chinese businessman Chaiyanat Kornchayanant, after it could not be determined by any agency whether the money donated was the proceeds of crime, according to EC Secretary-General Sawaeng Boonmee.
In order to determine whether donations to a political party is “dirty money”, such as money acquired from illegal gambling or narcotics trafficking, he said that the agencies concerned must prove that the money does represent the proceeds of criminal activity.
He explained that the EC has no authority to judge whether the donation made to a party was legal unless it has first been determined by the Anti-Money Laundering Office or the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
He said that the donation given to the Palang Pracharath party by Chaiyanat was a different issue from the “loan” granted to the now defunct Future Forward party, by then party leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit, which the EC was authorised to investigate and adjudicate.
The EC had been asked to dissolve the Palang Pracharath party for allegedly receiving dirty money in the form of a donation from Chaiyanat, who is currently incarcerated on multiple charges, including money laundering, organised transnational crime and illegal narcotics trafficking.
He said that the case against the Palang Pracharath party is already closed.
