A former rector of King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang's (KMITL) insisted yesterday he was not involved with the university's 1.4-billion-baht embezzlement scandal.
After meeting National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) officials yesterday, Tawil Paungma attempted to allay suspicions that an expensive plot of land he owns is connected to the embezzled funds.
Mr Tawil insisted the land was inherited from his mother before he became rector at KMITL.
At the time he received the inheritance, the land was worth about 35 million baht.
However, it is now worth more than 80 million baht, he said.
Investigators also raised questions about 2 million baht in cash in Mr Tawil's possession, which he said is part of a retirement package he received in October last year.
The amount paid to him was 12 installments of his monthly salary, he said, and when added to his savings comes to 2 million baht.
The meeting with the NACC yesterday was the third for Mr Tawil regarding the KMITL scandal.
When asked about a remark by police that a former KMITL executive had signed his name on a request to close three university accounts with a commercial bank, Mr Tawil said the NACC didn't ask him about that matter.
A source in the police team probing the scandal revealed a former KMITL executive was involved in the scam and had signed a request to close the accounts about a year after he left his job.
The three accounts were empty by the time they were closed, said the source.
Police investigators believe the bank accounts were closed in an attempt to conceal evidence of the embezzlement from KMITL's management.
Police say a probe has found a current executive and a financial officer of KMITL colluded with Amporn Noisamrit, 56, head of KMITL's financial division in perpetrating the fraud.
Ms Amporn has been arrested for allegedly embezzling the university's money.
Mr Tawil said he was shocked by Ms Amporn's involvement in the embezzlement scandal because he trusted her.
Aside from Ms Amporn and Songklod Sriprasong — a suspect who used to work for the Siam Commercial Bank's branch (SCB) at KMITL — Mr Tawil insisted he didn't know any of the other suspects named by police.
Mr Tawil dismissed speculation that he was the person other suspects have referred to as "the boss" of the KMITL scandal.
Police have claimed that Phada Buakaw — the most recent suspect to be arrested — told them he had heard key suspect Kittisak Muttujud and Mr Songklod referring to the mastermind of the embezzlement as "the boss".
Pol Col Pongsawai Chaemlamjiak said the investigation team was compiling evidence for a request to indict Ms Amporn and seven other suspects by the end of next month.
KMITL's bank records, sent by the SCB on Monday, could not be used to verify the authenticity of signatures because they were not the originals, he said.