Samart Jenchaijitwanich, a former deputy spokesman for the Palang Pracharath Party, is in serious legal trouble after his arrest last month in the northern border province of Chiang Rai.
The 41-year-old politician was charged with extortion and money laundering in connection with the iCon Group fraud case. His 62-year-old mother, Wilawan Puttasamrit, was arrested at her Bangkok house and charged with collaborating in money laundering. Both have denied the charges.
The Criminal Court released Wilawan on a bail guarantee of 500,000 baht on November 26 but rejected Samart’s request for temporary release, citing concern that he could meddle with evidence and the investigation.
The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) claims Samart received 3 million baht from iCon Group executives, including CEO Warathaphon “Boss Paul” Waratyaworrakul, via Wilawan’s bank account.
DSI director-general Police Major Yutthana Praedam said various sources had transferred about 100 million baht in total to Samart’s mother. Samart claimed that the money involved loans and charitable donations from numerous people.
Boss Paul and 17 other iCon Group executives were arrested in October on charges of defrauding the public and entering false information into the computer system, in connection with their e-commerce sales business. The business is suspected of being a pyramid scam.
Around the time of the arrests, an audio clip surfaced apparently recording Samart demanding payments from the iCon CEO in exchange for help with legal trouble.
As allegations of extortion intensified, Palang Pracharath removed Samart as its deputy spokesman on October 18. He quit the party a week later amid growing pressure from its senior figures.
Samart and his mother were arrested a month after his resignation. He staged a hunger strike while on remand, calling “for justice” in his case. After three days without food, he fell ill and was rushed to hospital.
History of whistleblowing
Samart was born on April 30, 1983, in Bangkok. He received a bachelor’s degree in law from Dhurakij Pundit University, a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Kasetsart University, and a master’s in science from Sripatum University.
He earned a reputation for exposing pyramid schemes, becoming president of the Association against Thailand’s Pyramid Schemes in 2014. He also wrote books on how to avoid becoming a victim of such scams.
Before entering politics, Samart campaigned for harsher penalties against operators of pyramid schemes.
In 2019, he joined the Palang Pracharath Party and became a member of its election campaign committee. After the party entered government following the election, Samart was appointed as a vice minister to then-justice minister Somsak Thepsuthin.
While serving in the post, Samart made headlines for ridiculing young protesters who rallied against General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s government in 2020.
He faced a backlash from netizens after posting a controversial comment on Facebook: “Everybody wants to help the country, but nobody wants to help their mother wash dishes.”
Comeback after scandal
In 2021, Samart lost his vice minister’s seat and was stripped of all party posts after being accused of having a proxy sit an exam for him during his doctoral studies at Ramkhamhaeng University’s Faculty of Political Science. The scandal tarnished his reputation.
A year later, the university suddenly dropped its investigation of the case without explanation, sparking speculation of undue influence.
Samart later posted on Facebook that the investigation committee found no convincing evidence against him after receiving information from “tens of witnesses”.
Last month, the university’s acting rector, Asst Prof Wuttisak Lapcharoensap, ordered a fresh investigation into Samart’s case amid suspicions over the abrupt end to the probe conducted under his predecessor.
He said any student found to be involved in exam cheating faced punishment ranging from suspension to expulsion.
After Palang Pracharath rejoined the ruling coalition following the 2023 general election, Samart was brought back into the party fold. He was appointed deputy party spokesman, working closely under party leader General Prawit Wongsuwan.
In August, Samart mounted a public defence of Prawit after Palang Pracharath was kicked out of the Pheu Thai-led coalition government. However, the freshly minted opposition party expelled him just two months later.
