Phantawat “Nott” Nakwisut, a renowned CEO, found himself amongst 41 individuals indicted on money laundering charges last Friday. The case revolves around an incident where Phantawat purportedly provided winning lottery tickets worth 53 million baht to Atthakarn, whose last name remains withheld. Atthakarn then allegedly deposited these winnings into Phantawat’s bank account. Interestingly, the so-called lottery winner remains at large.
Phantawat, together with 16 other defendants, appeared in court on Friday to face these serious accusations. However, 20 individuals connected to the case are still unaccounted for, while four others are in custody.
During the court proceedings, Phantawat informed the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) that he had only encountered Atthakarn once. This meeting occurred through an agency and involved Atthakarn claiming winnings from the Government Lottery Office on Phantawat’s behalf for unspecified “business reasons.” According to Phantawat, this transaction transpired when the online lottery platform was initially established.
In the early days of the platform, Phantawat communicated with various business partners and investors, rendering it impossible to scrutinize the background of each individual thoroughly. “If these criminals had been caught earlier, I would not be the one being blamed for money laundering,” Phantawat attested.
Maintaining his innocence, Phantawat asserted that he was not involved in any money laundering schemes and expressed confidence in his ability to prove this in court. Additionally, he claimed that criminal groups were masquerading as part of his company and capitalizing on his notoriety by entrapping people into purchasing “random boxes” for the chance to win enigmatic prizes.
“I heard that people have lost more than 10 million baht in these scams. This is the case the police should focus on instead of money-laundering allegations against me,” he argued.
Phantawat’s Kong Salak Plus platform, which gained popularity for not collecting commissions, was shut down by the court in February due to accusations of selling overpriced tickets and even offering them to individuals under 20 years of age – a clear violation of the law.
On a side note, Phantawat recently founded a political party named “Change” to participate in the May 14 election, where he will serve as the party’s leader. Although these recent money laundering allegations have cast a shadow over his reputation, he remains determined to clear his name and move forward with his political aspirations.
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