Teachers demand action over 'pyramid ripoff'
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More than 9,000 teachers yesterday rallied in front of the Chaiyaphum provincial hall to demand the transfer of Cooperative Promotion Department chief Somchai Charnnarongkul within three days for allegedly obstructing a probe into a pyramid scheme that pr
The group also threatened to move to Bangkok soon to pressure the prime minister and agriculture minister into speeding up the work of the Department of Special Investigation.
Piyawat Kingket, a senior DSI official, said the lottery quota scheme had ripped off more than Bt20 billion from more than 2,000 victims, mostly government teachers and officials.
Thewasitthi Phikkhanet Co started by securing lottery ticket quotas from the Government Lottery Office and selling them at a huge mark-up to members of the scheme. The buyers had to seek support from other members down the line.
Beginning in Loei in 2009, the scheme recruited members from cooperatives of government teachers and farmers, who expanded their networks to police and military officers, doctors and the public.
The scheme spread to 18 major cooperatives and networks in 11 provinces.
The teachers said a CPD order had resulted in a Chaiyaphum-based cooperative delaying refunding deposits totalling Bt295 million to them, which would leave them facing financial difficulties for five years.
Piyawat said the company was founded by Srisuk Rungwichai, a former appointed senator and a person believed to have profited from this scheme unlawfully.
He identified two other suspects, Sutthikorn Senphab and Samart Robroo, who were on the run.
The DSI has found many irregularities in all 18 cooperatives’ operations, including account fabrication, signature forgery and asset concealment.
The DSI would soon add other charges to certain suspects which would lead to the seizure of their assets, he added.
