A key suspect in the 1.5-billion-baht King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang (KMITL) embezzlement scandal, Kittisak Matthujad, is withholding information about the case and refusing to shed new light on the mastermind, according to police.
The 30-year-old businessman was arrested at Suvarnabhumi airport early yesterday after stepping off a flight from the UK.
Police were notified by their UK counterparts that the suspect was flying back on a Thai Airways International flight from London, police chief Somyot Pumpunmuang said at a briefing later yesterday.
Kittisak: Detained upon return from UK
Mr Kittisak left Thailand for Hong Kong on Dec 23 last year and it is believed he travelled to London two days later.
Pol Gen Somyot said Mr Kittisak appeared to be well prepared for his case.
He had consulted with his lawyers, and he had erased his mobile phone records, the police chief said.
The suspect said he only knew Songklod Sriprasong, another key suspect in the case, because he borrowed money from him.
Mr Songklod, 40, was a former manager of the Bank of Ayudhya’s Big C Srinakarin branch, where KMITL’s former financial division chief Amporn Noisamrit, another suspect, allegedly withdrew money from the institute's accounts and then deposited it back into the bank before the money was siphoned off.
Speaking to the press yesterday, Mr Kittisak said he wanted to come back to fight the charges and to prove his innocence.
He said he spent the money on investments, football gambling, and starting clubs and companies, adding that he sometimes transferred money to his parents to purchase items of gold.
"I do not know where Mr Songklod got the money from. I only knew that it came from the investment," Mr Kittisak said.
He said he knows nothing about any "boss" behind the network.
Mr Kittisak said he would receive money from Mr Songklod for investments and he promised to give him a 15% interest rate.
He admitted that he was dismayed by the arrest of his mother, who is being detained for her alleged involvement in the network.
"Police were not convinced by his story. He told a lie," the police chief said.
"It is unreasonable that Mr Songklod extended loans of hundreds of million of baht to him without questioning what he wanted to use the money for."
Pol Gen Somyot also said it was highly unusual that no attempt had been made to try and pay back the loans and make interest payments over the past two or three years.
He insisted police have strong evidence to implicate Mr Kittisak and believed the suspect intended to deny his involvement in the network by claiming he only knew Mr Songklod.
Crime Suppression Division (CSD) deputy chief Kornchai Klaikleung insisted there must be a bigger boss higher up the chain than Mr Kittisak, Mr Songklod and Ms Amporn in the case.
Mr Kittisak is the latest on a list of 12 suspects linked to the network to be arrested. The other suspects include former KMITL rector Thawil Puengma and his then assistant Sappasit Limnorara.
Pol Col Kornchai believes it was not possible for the three key suspects to carry out the embezzlement on their own and there must have been a person pulling the strings.
He said he has more information but he cannot reveal it just yet.
Police believe Mr Kittisak is hiding any links he has with the mastermind.
Pol Col Kornchai said Mr Kittisak admitted during questioning to receiving 100-200 million baht for each transfer made by Mr Songklod.
Mr Kittisak likely helped siphon the money from the institute or launder it via the purchase of land, real estate and vehicles, he said.
Of the 1.5 billion baht believed to be embezzled, 1 billion baht had been transferred to Mr Kittisak over the past three years and the rest distributed to others in the network, Pol Col Kornchai added.
According to national police spokesman Prawuth Thawornsiri, the Anti-Money Laundering Office has seized more than 500 million baht worth of assets belonging to the network.