Three MPs from the opposition People's Party have asked the Revenue Department to probe the source of 12 million baht in cash that an adviser to the telecom regulatory body left in a garbage area at the condominium building he resides in.
MPs Pukkamon Nunarnan, Rukchanok Srinork and Phanida Mongkolsawat filed their request at the Revenue Department on Monday.
They asked the department to investigate how lawyer Taweewat Sengkaew, an adviser to the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, earned the cash that he "accidentally" discarded last week among the garbage at the condominium building in Muang Thong Thani estate, in Pak Kret district, Nonthaburi.
The cash was found covered with clothing in a plastic box in a garbage area on the fourth floor on Thursday. The woman who found it is a resident who wanted to use what she assumed was a discarded plastic box. When she opened it, she found the money.
MP Pukkamon said she wondered if Mr Taweewat had really earned the money professionally, through his law practice, and if the serial numbers of the banknotes in the box could help reveal the source of the cash.
Mr Taweewat reportedly told police last week that he accidentally discarded the box after his fifth-floor condominium unit was damaged by a burst water pipe. At the time, he thought the box contained only old clothes.
It was reported that Mr Taweewat’s wife is a director at the Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission and that an inquiry was now underway into whether she should have included the 12 million baht in her declaration of assets.
Officials from the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission and the Anti-Corruption Division convened on Monday to discuss the matter.
Following the meeting, Suksan Prasara-ae, the director of the NACC’s Bureau of Investigation and Special Operations, stated that its probe would be divided into two parts.
The first is a proposal to the main NACC committee to investigate the asset declaration of Mr Taweewat’s wife, who, as an NACC director, is obligated to declare her and her spouse’s assets every three years.
The second part involves determining the origin of the funds, requiring local police to first identify the owner and source of the money.
Once confirmed, the three anti-graft agencies will ascertain if the money was legitimately acquired.
The agencies are scheduled to meet with Provincial Police Region 1 on Tuesday to coordinate the investigation.