Members of the Parliamentary Official Saving and Credit Cooperative are calling for an independent investigation into a 14-million-baht fraud, raising concerns that more individuals may be involved than the one employee currently under scrutiny.
A source said yesterday the cooperative recently acknowledged internal fraud, following an initial investigation which identified financial misconduct by a finance officer.
The Cooperative Board dismissed the employee without compensation and lodged a complaint at Bang Pho police station. The case is currently under investigation.
The board assured members the embezzlement had not affected the cooperative's financial stability or individual accounts.
However, this assurance has done little to dispel scepticism among members, said a cooperative source.
Many members questioned whether one person could have committed such large-scale fraud alone.
They highlighted internal procedures that require dual authorisation for financial transactions and multiple levels of approval for disbursements -- controls which should have prevented unauthorised access.
"If one person could bypass all the checks, then there's a serious flaw in the system," one member remarked. "It's likely others were aware or complicit."
Some suggested the fraud may have taken place over several years in small, regular amounts, raising doubts about oversight from senior staff and auditors.
The source expressed doubt over the board's move to blame one staff member, suggesting it may be a scapegoat tactic to protect senior figures.
They said only an independent, external investigation could reveal the truth.