Police in the northern border province of Chiang Rai have arrested Samart Jenchaijitwanich, a former deputy spokesman for the Palang Pracharath party, on money laundering charges.
Samart was inside Huay Pla Kang Temple in Muang district when he was taken into police custody.
His mother was arrested on the same charge this morning during a raid on her house in Bangkok. She told investigators that her son would surrender “later.”
A court issued arrest warrants for Samart and his mother, at the request of Department of Special Investigation (DSI), in connection with allegations of extorting money from Waratphol Waratvorakul, CEO of the embattled iCon Group.
The arrests and charges come after it was discovered that the allegedly extorted money was transferred to his mother’s bank account, before being further transferred to his account.
Meanwhile, National Police Commissioner Pol Gen Kitrat Phanphet revealed that it is likely that the suspect will be transferred to Bangkok by car.
Asked whether Samart had been planning to flee the country from the border province in which he was apprehended, Kitrat said the matter would be looked into.
Samart quit the Palang Pracharath party on October 25th, to avoid being sacked by the party for his involvement with the iCon Group.
