Thailand’s attorney-general will decide by April 17th whether Senator Upakit Pachariyangkun will be indicted as charged by the police, Kosonlavat Intujunyong, deputy spokesman for the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG), said today (Tuesday).
The senator reported to the narcotic suppression police commander yesterday to acknowledge charges of money laundering and association with a transnational criminal organisation. He was then escorted to the OAG to be informed of the charges filed against him. He denied all the charges.
Kosonlavat said that, since Upakit voluntarily appeared to acknowledge the charges, without any warrant or summons being issued, there is no need to detain him because his actions have been cooperative.
He said that Upakit’s actions will assist prosecutors in their search for evidence, adding that the prosecutors will try to wrap up the case as quickly as possible, so it can be sent to the attorney-general for a prosecution decision.
Senator Upakit entered the public spotlight over his alleged links with Tun Min Latt, a crony of Myanmar military strongman Min Aung Hlaing, who was arrested in Bangkok last September and indicted in December on charges of drug trafficking and money laundering.
Three other Thais were also taken into custody, one of whom was Upakit’s son-in-law, Dean Young Gultula.
Move Forward MP Rangsiman Rome told parliament in February that Upakit was a long-time business partner of Tun Min Latt. Upakit said, however, that he knew Tun Min Latt through an electricity supply business operating on the Thailand-Myanmar border and he insisted he was not involved in any shady business with the Myanmar tycoon.
