Klongchan to repay 3.8% to depositors in first lot

Klongchan to repay 3.8% to depositors in first lot

Depositors of Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative, mostly the elderly, gather at the Cooperative Promotion Department in Bangkok last year to demand justice in the cooperative embezzlement. The first and tiny lot of the money would be returned to them on June 30. (Photo by Pawat Laopaisarntaksin)
Depositors of Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative, mostly the elderly, gather at the Cooperative Promotion Department in Bangkok last year to demand justice in the cooperative embezzlement. The first and tiny lot of the money would be returned to them on June 30. (Photo by Pawat Laopaisarntaksin)

The management of the embezzled Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative (KCUC) planned to return a very small portion of money to its depositors on June 30 after a three-year wait.

Prakit Pilangkasa, chairman of the KCUC rehabilitation committee, said on Tuesday that the first lot of principal to be repaid would amount to 600 million baht or 3.76% of the 18 billion baht owed.

The money would go to three groups of depositors. About 13,000 people whose deposit was up to 10,000 baht each would receive all their money back. Some 5,000 large depositors and 74 other cooperatives would receive 3.76% of their deposits, he said. Most individual depositors are the elderly.

Repayment will be made twice a year and the next round was expected in December, he said.

At this rate, it would take 26 years for depositors to be fully repaid, given some 20 billion baht had been embezzled from Thailand's once-richest cooperative, according to earlier reports.

Already jailed for the fraud was former KCUC chairman Supachai Srisuppa-aksorn who had transferred about 1 billion baht from the cooperative to Phra Dhammajayo, abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya.

Supachai was a long-time treasurer of Wat Phra Dhammakaya and a key follower of Phra Dhammajayo.

Mr Prakit met the investigators at the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) on Tuesday to inquire about another 400 million baht the DSI had recently found to have been transferred from KCUC to the monks and partners of Wat Phra Dhammakaya. The investigators found the additional transfers had been made in cheques which Mr Prakit said he had not seen.

Earlier, KCUC sealed deals with the temple for the return of 1.05 billion baht previously drawn from the cooperative. KCUC has received 704 million baht in cheques from money raised by Wat Phra Dhammakaya's disciples, Mr Prakit said. The returned money did not come from the temple or any of its monks, he said.

Pakorn Sucheevakun, DSI's director for financial and banking crime, said the DSI found altogether 1.46 billion baht had been transferred through 27 cheques from KCUC to the monks and partners of Wat Phra Dhammakaya.

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