Football club owner faces assets seizure
Businessman Samrit a suspect in OTEP loan case
A HIGH-PROFILE businessman is among several suspects facing assets seizure over allegations of borrowing money illegally from a fund administered by the Office of the Welfare Promotion Commission for Teachers and Educational Personnel’s (OTEP).
The fund has suffered losses of about Bt2.5 billion through its purchases of Billion Innovated Group promissory notes, which were approved by OTEP’s board.
Key suspects include Billion Innovated Group’s founder Samrit Bunditkitsada and some OTEP/fund executives.
Samrit, a major shareholder of Promise Insurance, is widely known among football fans for running the Police United Football Club and taking over Reading Football Club.
Hundreds of teachers complained recently about management of the fund, as they suspect they were cheated.
“We have already frozen about Bt183 million in assets of these suspects and related people,” Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) secretary-general Seehanat Prayoonrat said yesterday.
Samrit’s shares in Promise Insurance, for example, had been frozen, he said. They are worth about Bt71 million. In addition, bank accounts of Promise Insurance and Police United FC will be suspended for 10 days too. Both accounts have cash of about Bt43 million.
The moves are on top of the seizure of several land-rights documents and bank accounts of other suspects.
“Moreover, we will try to track down the rest of the money that came from OTEP”, Seehanat said. He said the suspects may have hidden a huge sum of assets acquired through ill-gotten gain.
Seehanat said AMLO’s actions were based on probe results that showed irregularities in OTEP’s decision to hand over money to Billion Innovated Group.
According to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), Billion Innovated Group used false surety, including falsified bank guarantees, forged bills of exchange, and falsified certificates of shares in Reading FC to secure the Bt2.5 billion from OTEP.
The DSI has asked the National Anti-Corruption Commission to take action against the OTEP administrators and officials involved in granting the loans. Other accomplices will also be held responsible for abetting or supporting officials’ wrongdoing.
Seehanat said evidence suggested the suspects had committed wrongdoing under anti-money laundering laws.
