The Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) has seized assets worth around 100 million baht from suspects in the alleged criminal network of former Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) chief Pongpat Chayapan.
Reporters use their phones to take pictures of an Anti Money-Laundering Office chart showing financial transactions made by the alleged criminal network of former Central Investigation Bureau chief Pongpat Chayapan. Patipat Janthong
A total of 111 items have been taken for inspection, Amlo chief Pol Col Sihanart Prayoonrat said yesterday.
The seizure comes after Amlo last week impounded 104 items worth 400 million baht, which were owned by a number of people named as suspects in the case.
But Pol Col Sihanart said a check of Pol Lt Gen Pongpat's financial records found that he only has three bank accounts containing just 70,000 baht.
The Amlo chief said the small amount of money in the accounts seems “unusual”.
Pol Lt Gen Pongpat is known to have a good knowledge of anti-money laundering law, which makes it difficult to track his money trail, Pol Col Sihanart said.
“We believe Pol Lt Gen Pongpat intentionally avoided making direct transactions through financial institutions and instead laundered his money through the purchase of antiques,” he said.
Amlo has seized 215 antiques with a total value of more than 500 million baht since the case started. The Amlo chief said Pol Lt Gen Pongpat's bank accounts were found to be linked with those of Chob Chinnaprapha, his brother-in-law, and eight other suspects.
Those accounts contained about 37.9 million baht altogether, he said.
The suspects include former CIB deputy chief Pol Maj Gen Kowit Wongrungroj and Pol Col Akkharawut Limrat, the late former chief of the Crime Suppression Division’s Sub-division 1.
Amlo also found that Pol Lt Gen Pongpat had made 16 money transfers to educational institutions in the UK and Switzerland, totalling 5.2 million baht.
Pol Col Sihanart said the agency will now summon the owners of assets seized and ask them to prove how they have obtained the items.
If they fail to prove where the assets came from, the assets will be confiscated permanently.
Police investigators working on the case have concluded that Pol Lt Gen Pongpat and Pol Maj Gen Kowit received bribes of more than 150 million baht from an oil smuggling ring allegedly operated by Sahachai "Sia Jo" Chiansoemsin, a source said yesterday. Mr Sahachai is a fugitive and suspected of oil smuggling in the South.
The source said police have pieced together financial records with evidence obtained from interrogating Pol Maj Gen Boonsueb Phraithuean, former chief of the Marine Police Division, and Pol Maj Gen Kowit.