The Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP) on Friday removed Samart Janechaijittawanich as a deputy spokesman following an allegation he extorted money from the CEO of The iCon Group, the direct sales company at the centre of an alleged public fraud scam.
PPRP secretary-general Paiboon Nititawan said party leader Gen Prawit Wongsuwon ordered that Mr Samart be immediately removed from his position as the police investigation into the iCon scandal was expanding.
When asked whether Mr Samart would be expelled from the party, Mr Paiboon said that, per regulations, an expulsion must be approved by the party executive committee. He added that Mr Samart had refused to quit.
Mr Paiboon said he is closely following the investigation and will report the matter to a party executive meeting on Oct 29, adding that Gen Prawit is concerned about the victims.
Mr Samart became embroiled in the scandal following the release of an audio clip allegedly featuring a conversation between Warathaphon Waratyaworrakul, the CEO and founder of The iCon Group, and a non-MP House committee member.
In a television interview, Mr Warathaphon explained that the man in the audio clip offered to help him clear a complaint in exchange for 100,000 baht.
According to Mr Warathaphon, the conversation took place about two years ago and had nothing to do with the current issue. Mr Samart strongly denied that he was the other man in the recording and threatened to sue people linking him with The iCon Group.
Celebrity lawyer Sitra Biabangkerd submitted a petition on Friday to House Speaker Wan Muhamad Noor Matha asking him to investigate two audio clips allegedly featuring Mr Samart.
Mr Sitra also urged the House Speaker to remove Mr Samart from all House committees he serves on if the man was found in the wrong. He noted that Mr Samart serves on almost 10 committees.
The lawyer also shrugged off Mr Samart's threat to sue anyone accusing him of having been involved in The iCon Group scandal, saying those close to Mr Samart confirmed it was Mr Samart's voice.
Mr Sitra also called on the PPRP to investigate Mr Samart's alleged extortion rather than just removing him from the deputy spokesman post or expelling him from the party.
Muk Sulaiman, Mr Wan Noor's secretary, said yesterday that the House Speaker had ordered all committees to examine the conduct of members and any abuse of positions.