Police investigating the disappearance of 1.4 billion baht from bank accounts held by King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang KMITL) have shifted their focus to certain staff at Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) who have links with a key suspect in the embezzlement case.
Songklod Sriprasong, centre, a former branch manager of two commercial banks who is implicated in the 1.4-billion-baht KMITL embezzlement scandal, is presented to a police press conference in December. (File photo)
Pol Col Nos Sawetlek, deputy commander of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), said on Thursday that investigators had received only limited information from Siam Commercial Bank and had suspicions about some staff and their possible links to the embezzlement at KMITL.
A prime suspect in the embezzlement scandal is Songklod Sriprasong, a former manager of Bank of Ayudhya's branch at Big C Srinakarin store. He had previously worked at an SCB branch at the Big C Suwinthawong store.
He is accused of falsifying documents to show that money transferred from KMITL accounts was still on deposit with Bank of Ayudhya.
Pol Col Nos said that SCB had sent him only one page of information, stating that Mr Songklod had worked for SCB since January 2013, but the bank failed to give any substantial information on two other staff members connected with Mr Songklod.
"One staffer at Siam Commercial Bank who worked with Mr Songklod was told to resign, and the other was demoted.
"The bank did not provide any further information about these two people to us. Police will summon both of them for questioning, because we do not know what else is being concealed," Pol Col Nos said.
The embezzlement started about two years ago. Police investigators recently concluded that 1.47 billion baht had been stolen from five KMITL deposit accounts with SCB.
Pol Col Nos said a KMITL lecturer who had received 5.5 million baht in the case had failed to present evidence to back his claim of innocence. Police would seek to extend the detention of Amporn Noisamrit, former head of the university's financial division, and Mr Songklod.
Pol Col Kornchai Klailkleung, another CSD deputy commander, said police had asked the Foreign Ministry to revoke the passport of Kittisak Mattujad, another key suspect in the case who has fled the country.