The Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) has turned heads this year, seizing over 5 billion baht worth of assets in a dramatic crackdown encompassing 48 cases tied to fraud, online gambling, and corruption. Amlo secretary-general Theppasu Bavornchotidara, alongside Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) assistant secretary-general Bhumivisan Kasemsook, delivered the news at the 11th meeting of Amlo’s Transaction Committee, unveiling a sweeping range of confiscations.
Among the eye-popping numbers, 12,300 assets, collectively valued at 4.5 billion baht, were nabbed in these fraud investigations. Notable among these is the case involving Peempong Hiranprueck, a senior civil engineer at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s (BMA) Public Works Department, and another case tethered to the infamous Kofuk online gambling network.
Sanga “Kofuk” Kungwan, the linchpin of this network, flew the coop earlier this year when the heat turned up over an 18-billion-baht tax fraud and sprawling gambling operation. Talk about high stakes!
In Mr. Peempong’s entanglement, he stands accused of leveraging his position for a plum bribe. Specifically, he allegedly squeezed a golf course owner in Nong Chok district for cash to ensure the course retained most of its land during a road construction project. Pro golfers are known for cutthroat competition, but this is taking it to a new level!
Meanwhile, in another headline-grabbing scenario, Pramual Saengkaewsri, the head of the Ratchathewi district office’s revenue section, has been called out for accepting bribes from business operators. Thanks to his under-the-table dealings, these operators dodged paying their property and land taxes. The price for this shady tax evasion? Amlo swooped in and seized 47 million baht in assets from both Mr. Peempong and Mr. Pramual. Looks like the taxman has the last laugh.
When it comes to the Kofuk saga, Amlo played a high-stakes game too, grabbing 372 assets including cash, jewelry, land, and bank accounts. The total haul? A cool 963 million baht, confiscated from Sanga “Kofuk” Kungwan and his associates. But wait, there’s more! On the tally board of fraud, Amlo snatched up 107 assets worth a jaw-dropping 3.1 billion baht from various swindle cases that left victims high and dry.
One particularly high-profile case involves Apimuk Bamrungwong, a former bigwig shareholder of More Return Plc (MORE). He and his network allegedly orchestrated an elaborate 800-million-baht stock manipulation scheme last year, which led to a financial nose-dive for investors. This intricately knitted scam has all the twists and turns of a thriller novel, minus the happy ending for those caught in its web.
But the crackdown saga doesn’t end there. Mr. Theppasu announced yet another sting, this time involving online gambling websites with alleged connections to former deputy national police chief Pol Gen Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn. Amlo’s dragnet landed assets worth 400,000 baht linked to this cyber-gambling conspiracy. However, in an unexpected twist, Pol Gen Surachate is actively working to reverse the asset seizure, according to Mr. Theppasu. Whether he succeeds in this legal gambit remains to be seen, offering yet another subplot in this ongoing drama.
So, as the curtain falls on this year’s latest chapter in Amlo’s relentless pursuit of justice, one thing is clear: the fight against fraud, gambling, and corruption is far from over. With billions of baht and the hive of activity buzzing around these cases, it’s clear the stakes couldn’t be higher. Stay tuned, spectators, because in the world of high finance and corruption, the plot only thickens.
Finally, some real action against corruption! Amlo’s crackdown has been long overdue.
Agreed, but will these actions lead to systemic changes or just more high-profile arrests?
Hopefully both. It’s about time we saw deeper reforms beyond just seizing assets.
This is just another political stunt. They’ll seize assets now, and then quietly return them later.
That’s a pessimistic view. Not everything is a conspiracy, you know.
Maybe, but history isn’t on your side. Corruption fights usually have a lot of smoke and mirrors.
If it were just a stunt, they wouldn’t be risking so many reputations and careers. I think they mean business this time.
Good for Amlo, but how high do these investigations reach? It’s always the mid-level guys who get caught.
Right? When will we see the big fish like Pol Gen Surachate actually pay the price?
Exactly. The real masterminds behind these networks often have political protection.
When you see numbers like billions of baht, you realize the scale of corruption. It’s disheartening but at least they’re doing something.
Is it really disheartening, or just reality? Corruption is everywhere.
Apathy won’t help. We need to stay hopeful and supportive of movements pushing for justice.
Didn’t think they’d catch someone as high-profile as Apimuk Bamrungwong. What a shocker!
Yeah, but it makes you wonder how long he was able to operate before they finally caught on.
True, there should be an investigation into how he managed to stay under the radar for so long.
What’s the story with the golf course bribe? It sounds insane!
Taking bribes to keep a golf course intact during construction sounds pretty standard for our officials, sadly.
It’s the kind of thing you’d expect in a crime novel, but it’s real life!
The Kofuk online gambling network haul is MASSIVE. You can’t make this stuff up!
Imagine the sheer size and complexity of that operation. Speaks to the mechanics behind illegal gambling schemes.
And they still caught him! Shows there’s some hope against these massive criminal enterprises.
We need more transparency in the aftermath of these seizures. How does Amlo allocate the confiscated assets?
Wow, the MORE stock manipulation case. Talk about playing with people’s lives!
Manipulation in the stock market is a whole other beast. Just goes to show, greed has no bounds.
Why isn’t there a bigger outcry about Pol Gen Surachate fighting the asset seizure? It’s absurd he can even do that.
Corruption is deeply rooted. People fear speaking out against powerful figures.
Will Peempong Hiranprueck face jail time, or just asset seizures?
Imagine operating an 18-billion-baht fraud scheme. How did he think he wouldn’t get caught?
If Amlo can seize this many assets now, why didn’t they notice these activities sooner?
They probably did, but turning a blind eye until the timing was right.
The link between corruption and gambling networks is often ignored. It’s about time it was highlighted.
True. These underground connections fuel many criminal activities beyond just financial crimes.