Police arrested politician Samart Janechaijittawanich in the northernmost province of Chiang Rai on Monday after he was wanted for alleged money laundering in connection with The iCon Group fraud case.
The arrest happened at noon on Monday after his mother Wilawan Phutthasamrit was apprehended at her house in Bangkok on Monday morning.
Department of Special Investigation (DSI) director-general Yutthana Praedam said that Mr Samart had appeared to rush out of his residence in Taling Chan district of Bangkok because officials who searched the house found that its air-conditioning was still on.
Officials suspected Mr Samart of receiving 3 million baht from executives of The iCon Group through the bank account of his mother. Of the sum, 2.5 million baht was from The iCon Group chief executive Warathaphon Waratyaworrakul, the DSI chief said.
The money came from fundraising from members of The iCon Group direct sales company which has been prosecuted for alleged public fraud. The iCon Group then transferred the money to Mr Warathaphon aka Boss Paul who then gave the money to Mr Samart’s mother, the DSI chief said.
“For a period, six-digit amounts were transferred monthly from the prosecuted company,” Pol Maj Yutthna said.
Mr Samart was arrested by police from Provincial Police Region 5 and would be brought to Bangkok on Monday evening for further interrogation, the DSI chief said.
He also said that Ms Wilawan, Mr Samart’s mother, had received about 100 million baht in total from many sources – including the 2.5 million baht from Boss Paul, The iCon Group CEO.
Ms Wilawan also received 500,000 baht in total from another suspect in The iCon Group, Pol Maj Yutthana said, referring to the suspect known as Boss Peter. The money was transferred in small amounts over a certain period, the DSI chief said.
The Criminal Court on Sunday issued a warrant for the arrest of Mr Samart, 41, who is a former deputy spokesman of the Palang Pracharath Party.
Mr Samart became embroiled in The iCon Group scandal following the release of an audio clip allegedly featuring a conversation between the CEO and founder of The iCon Group, and a non-MP House committee member who offered to help clear a complaint in exchange for money.