Singapore's help sought in Juthamas case

Singapore's help sought in Juthamas case

Juthamas (left): Civil case yet to wrap up
Juthamas (left): Civil case yet to wrap up

The Office of the Attorney-General is seeking the cooperation of its Singaporean counterpart in freezing the assets of former Tourism Authority of Thailand boss, Juthamas Siriwan.

She was convicted of bribery in relation to the hosting of the Bangkok International Film Festival between 2002-2007.

OAG spokesman Ittiporn Kaewthip, deputy spokesman Prayut Phetkun and Jumpon Phansumrit, director-general of the International Affairs Department, delivered a joint summary on last year's cases on Wednesday.

Mr Jumpon said while the criminal case against Juthamas resulted in her imprisonment, the civil case against her has yet to wrap up.

It was found that she had transferred many assets to other jurisdictions, including Singapore and countries in Europe.

"Our counterpart in Singapore is waiting for a Thai court to request it return the assets to the Finance Ministry this year, while the Anti-Money Laundering Office [Amlo] and the OAG will keep tracking the rest of her assets in other countries," he said.

The OAG staff also outlined progress in their attempt to bring Red Bull scion Vorayuth "Boss" Yoovidhya to justice, following his 2012 hit-and-run case.

His reckless driving charge will expire in 2027 while a cocaine-related charge will expire on Sept 3.

Mr Prayut said the OAG is concerned by the lack of progress in locating Mr Vorayuth, given the looming expiry of his drug charge. However, he said tracking down a fugitive in a foreign country is not the OAG's responsibility.

"Once the fugitive's whereabouts are confirmed, the OAG will handle the extradition," Mr Prayut said.

Last year, the OAG handled a total of 483,414 cases, of which 435,527 have been concluded. Most cases were related to drugs, property, and driving under the influence.

The OAG's Special Litigation Department accepted 233 money-laundering cases involving 3.411 billion baht from Amlo last year.

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