BURI RAM: Police have arrested the chairman and eight other committee members of a funeral welfare cooperative in Satuk district for alleged public fraud amounting to 320 million baht of members' money.
A combined team of more than 100 police from several agencies arrested the nine suspects on Thursday night and seized assets worth at least 36 million baht - cash, houses, vehicles and land.
The suspects were named on arrest warrants issued by the Buri Ram Provincial Court and are accused of colluding in public fraud, embezzlement and illegally setting up a funeral welfare cooperative.
Pol Lt Gen Surachate Hakparn, commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, said the provenance of the seized assets would be examined.
Investigators would trace the money trails of the nine suspects and the anti-money laundering law would be enforced to confiscate any further assets found to have been obtained through fraud and then transferred to other people, Pol Lt Gen Surachate said.
A police investigation found that the nine suspects had set up a funeral welfare cooperative in Satuk district, encouraging people io apply for membership with the promise of paying 150,000 baht in funeral expenses to the family of a deceased member.
However, many families did not receive money after their loved ones who were members of the cooperative died.
More than 3,300 people had filed complaints with police against the cooperative, saying they had been swindled out of at least 320 million baht in total in contributions.