Over 20,000 assets confiscated from the alleged criminal network of former Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) chief Pongpat Chayapan will be put up for public auction Monday.
The Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) is auctioning the items at the 2nd Infantry Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, on Chaeng Wattana Road in Bangkok.
After Pol Lt Gen Pongpat and members of his network were arrested in November last year, Amlo ordered their assets confiscated three times — twice in December last year and once last month.
Almost 3,500 categories of assets have been confiscated. From them, Amlo estimates more than 20,000 items were acquired dishonestly or through criminal activities.
The items range from small pieces such as amulets, handbags, talismans, antiques, porcelain, jewellery, ornaments and paintings, to big ones such as wooden furniture, cars and land. All go under the hammer.
"Some impounded assets are highly priced, such as a diamond necklace set valued at more than 2.7 million baht, and unprocessed silver, weighing around 120kg, worth 1.7 million baht," Pol Col Sihanart said.
The value of items put up for auction range from 1,000 baht to more than 15 million baht. A 108-year-old oil painting will start bidding at 15 million baht while the actual market price could reach 20 million baht.
Pol Col Sihanart said seized assets will be divided into those likely to lose their value over time, and those likely to keep it. Items falling into the first category are subject to depreciation.
Some items, such as the oil painting, must be kept in a 24-hour air-conditioned room while wooden objects could be destroyed by termites.
Amlo has decided to sell them to reduce the potential burden on the state. Wood, ivory and vehicles will be considered as assets likely to lose value, while land can be kept without depreciation.
According to Amlo's rules on the management of frozen assets, seized assets can be sold to the public. Payment must be in cash only.
However, the assets' owners are able to submit a petition to Amlo within 90 days of the seizure, attaching documents that prove the assets are not linked to crime.
Pol Lt Gen Pongpat was arrested along with a dozen others in November last year and is facing several corruption allegations, including money laundering, malfeasance and abuse of authority, taking bribes in exchange for promoting police, and running football gambling businesses.