A group of about 100 students, staff, and alumni of King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) yesterday called on commercial banks, including Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), to explain what happened in the embezzlement scandal at the university.
A group of students, alumni and staff of King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) gather outside Siam Commercial Bank yesterday to demand its executives open up about the KMITL embezzlement scandal. Thanarak Khunton
They also want to know what the banks are doing to help police probe the scam and track down the culprits. The group is upset that more than 1.6 billion baht of cash has disappeared from the university's bank accounts.
Kiattisak Runphrasaeng, a deputy dean of KMITL's Faculty of Engineering, one of the group's members, said he represented KMITL lecturers who are concerned about the SCB's silence. "We were wondering what the bank has been doing about this case and hope it will cooperate fully with the police to bring the culprits to justice," said Mr Kiattisak.
The group yesterday submitted an open letter to the bank at its headquarters near the Ratchayothin intersection. The letter said the SCB handled about 1.5 billion baht of the missing money. It also wants two other banks which handled the cash, the Bank of Ayudhya Plc and Krungthai Bank, to cooperate with police.
They asked the SCB about the systems it has in place for ensuring the security of deposits and why the bank approved several withdrawals from the university's accounts during the scandal.
After meeting the group, Pongsit Chaichutpornsuk, SCB executive vice-president for financial crime prevention and security, insisted the bank will stand by the KMITL. Though it has not said much about the scandal in public, the bank has been working with investigators and the other commercial banks concerned, Mr Pongsit said.
However, he insisted it was not SCB's fault and the bank does not have to compensate the university for the losses. Mr Pongsit said SCB always verified the amounts of money in the university's transactions, which the university had confirmed were correct.
As for Songklod Sriprasong, 40, the former SCB Suwinthawong branch manager implicated in the scandal, Mr Pongsit said the bank became suspicious when he approved a cash withdrawal that was not accompanied by all required signatures.
The incident led the bank to pressure Mr Songklod to submit his resignation, which he did. The bank also warned the next bank which employed him about his behaviour.
National police spokesman Prawuth Thawornsiri, meanwhile, said the National Police Office's (NPO) foreign affairs division was preparing to ask Britain to deport Kittisak Muttujud, another key suspect in the KMITL scandal back to Thailand. The NPO would also alert Interpol about the suspect and request a general alert to its member countries in the event he tries to leave Britain.
The Crime Suppression Division (CSD) yesterday sought approval from the Min Buri provincial court to further detain Radom Muttujud, Mr Kittisak's mother, who police suspect colluded with her son to steal and launder the money. The CSD also objected to any request for Ms Radom to be released on bail.