Tom Kruesopon uncovers billion-baht gambling scandal

Prominent businessman Tom Kruesopon, a board member of Sendit Tech Co., Ltd., and the company’s legal counsel, Witoon Keng-ngarn, held a press conference on Monday (May 12) to disclose evidence of unlawful financial transactions discovered following a company acquisition. 

The investigation revealed that former executives had allowed illegal online gambling platforms to use the company’s payment gateway system, with suspicious financial activity exceeding 10 billion baht in annual circulation.

According to Witoon, Sendit Tech is a joint venture between Indonesian and US investors that entered the Thai market by acquiring a local payment gateway company in mid-2022. Since foreign companies cannot easily obtain their own payment licenses in Thailand, purchasing a licensed local company was a strategic move. 

Although the acquisition occurred in 2022, Sendit Tech's new management team only officially took control in late 2023, with the company being formally renamed Sendit Tech in February 2024.

Shortly after assuming control, the new leadership team began auditing company operations and discovered suspicious activities among the top 20 clients. A deeper investigation—tracking URLs linked to client accounts—revealed over 100 active gambling websites, all based in Thailand, including platforms like 123vega3.com.

As a result, two former executives were terminated. They later filed a labour lawsuit against the company, alleging breach of contract and unlawful dismissal. During court proceedings, Sendit Tech submitted transactional evidence indicating that the executives had enabled illegal activity that severely damaged the company.

The court ruled that the former executives had indeed violated the law, but still ordered the company to pay 300 million baht in bonuses as stipulated in their employment contracts, arguing that the contracts did not explicitly prohibit bonus payments in connection with illegal activity. Sendit Tech has since filed an appeal.

Witoon further stated that the scandal has severely damaged the company's credibility and led to an upcoming investigation by Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), scheduled to take place between Tuesday and Friday. The scrutiny is not limited to illegal gambling platforms—it also involves online lending activities. However, he emphasised that the company is fully prepared to cooperate with authorities.

One particularly alarming development, Witoon noted, was that Thailand’s Legal Execution Department had already frozen customer funds linked to the company. On April 30, the department issued a freeze order on approximately US$8 million (about 200–300 million baht).

What raised eyebrows, he said, was the unusual speed of the process:

The request to freeze the funds was filed at 12.44pm.

The official order was issued at 1pm the same day

Notices were sent to relevant banks and also delivered by post to the company on May 1

Witoon questioned whether such rapid action is standard practice, adding that many legal professionals have never encountered a case with such swift asset freezing procedures.

Moving forward, Sendit Tech plans to compile all relevant documents and submit them to the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB) and the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) for investigation into the gambling-related activities.

As for the money laundering aspect, evidence will be submitted to AMLO, and the company will also coordinate with the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to aid in a broader investigation. Witoon stressed that the scale of these transactions is significant within Thailand, and the company is committed to fully cooperating with authorities to dismantle the illegal gambling network.

He concluded by saying that this will be a “high-energy case” and that the company will also petition the Legal Execution Department for fairness regarding the asset freeze.

Tom expressed strong dismay following a Thai court ruling that awarded 300 million baht in bonuses to former executives found guilty of enabling illegal transactions. “If Thai courts rule in favour of the guilty and force foreign investors to pay, who would dare invest in Thailand?” he asked. “The Thai government says it welcomes foreign investment—but when investors are mistreated and have to pay out of fear of the justice system, how can we have confidence?”

He added, “Those who committed wrongdoing are still benefiting. We’re trying to build a transparent, legitimate business—but the system forces us to operate in the gray zone.”

Tom also revealed that during the legal battle, he received calls from more than 10 influential figures, including a well-known military aide-de-camp (ADC) and other nationally recognised names, urging him to drop the case and pay the 300 million baht settlement. “They questioned why I was supporting foreigners. I told the officer who called me, ‘I’m not playing this game.’”

Tom stated that what he could not tolerate was how authorities appeared to target his clients unfairly, such as by freezing accounts despite knowing that the company was actively appealing the case. “This felt like harassment—not just toward us, but toward anyone considering investing in Thailand.”

Tom said, “I hope the public and the judiciary won’t allow such corruption to take root in this country. If nothing changes, those enabling wrongdoing will forever be part of the problem. As long as power and money are used to protect the guilty, the system can’t be fixed. And who will invest in a country where the guilty are still protected? We’ve lost billions in revenue by speaking out—but I’d rather clean this business up than stay silent.”

Despite potential losses estimated in the tens of billions of baht, Tom stated that Sendit Tech has decided to compensate more than 10,000 affected customers whose accounts were frozen, using the company’s own funds.

“We’re prepared to use our own money—for the good of the country,” he declared, emphasising that Sendit Tech is committed to transparency and integrity. “We believe the way this has been handled is damaging to the nation’s reputation and investor confidence.”

“I strongly urge law enforcement to take real, decisive action,” he said. “The billions of baht in gambling-related funds that no longer flow through our company will inevitably end up being processed by other payment gateway providers. The problem hasn't disappeared—it’s just being redirected.”