Further witness statements sought in probe into alleged Bt800m bitcoin investment scam
Police will this week summon witnesses to provide additional information for the investigation into an alleged Bt800-million bitcoin investment scam, while key suspect Parinya Jaravijit has sent a letter through his lawyer requesting postponement of the date for him to hear the charge of colluding in fraud, the deputy chief of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) said on Tuesday.
Parinya is currently due to hear the charge on September 17, Pol Colonel Chakrit Sawasdee said.
Keeping the media up to date with progress in the investigation, Chakrit said police had not yet applied for arrest warrants for Parinya’s parents – Lertchatkamon and Suwit Jaravijit – over a money-laundering charge, because the investigators would summon them to give additional testimonies later this week.
The upcoming summons for the parents was to give them a chance to explain about the Bt90 million they had received from their son, he added.
Parinya, along with other family members, including his siblings – actor Jirapisit “Boom” Jaravijit and Thanasit Jaravijit – are suspects in the fraud case.
Police said their bank accounts showed several hundred million baht in deposits reportedly derived from the conversion of cryptocurrency units, transferred by Finnish owner Aarni Saarimaa, for bogus investments in Thai stocks and other assets.
Jirapisit, who was earlier charged with money-laundering in the case, and Thanasit, along with businessman Chakris Ahmad and well-known stock investor Prasit Srisuwan, last week acknowledged the charge of colluding in fraud filed by the CSD.
That had left only Parinya who had failed to do so, resulting in the police threatening to issue an arrest warrant for him.