Ex-revenue officials get jail term over Bt3-bn VAT refund scam
Two former state revenue officials were given life sentences for their involvement in embezzling more than Bt3 billion from the state through fraudulent value-added-tax (VAT) refunds, and ordered to reimburse the Revenue Departnent.
The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct cases on Thursday found the former director-general of the Revenue Department, Sathit Rangkhasiri, and a former official of Bangkok Revenue Department Area 22, Siriphong Riyakantheerachote, guilty of approving VAT refunds to 25 companies in Bangkok and Samut Prakan provinces several times since 2013, despite those companies not being eligible for a refund.
The defendants then embezzled the money totalling over Bt3.09 billion with the help of two other defendants, Prasit Anyachote and Kittisak Anyachote.
The court later acquitted Kittisak and ordered the three defendants to compensate the sum of Bt3,097,016,533 to the Revenue Department. The court also ordered the confiscation of 77 kilograms of gold bars and 7,000 baht weight of gold that Sathit had purchased with the embezzled money.
Prasit was given six years and eight months' jail time.