‘ Boss Paul ‘ pledges to support victims, denies he oversaw a pyramid system
Police detained The image Group CEO Warathaphon” Boss Paul” Waratyaworrakul on Saturday, promising to assist the hundreds of people who have complained about the website selling business’s falsification.
Mr Warathaphon, accompanied by his lawyer, reported to officers at the Consumer Protection Police Division ( CPPD ) who are seeking a warrant to arrest him on fraud charges.
The Anti-Money Laundering Office ( Amlo ), meanwhile, said it was looking into the possibility of freezing the company’s assets pending the outcome of police investigations.
Mr Warathaphon, 41, said he was saddened upon learning that a number of people had suffered losses from investing in the bank’s direct selling company. He even acknowledged that earlier should have been used to address their issues.
He claimed that in order to assist these people, he intended to find a trustworthy individual to manage the operation of a center the business is setting up to provide assistance and payment.
He defended the decision as a humanitarian and socially responsible action while claiming that his direct sales company is completely transparent and responsible.
” I have been building this business for the past six years, and I have protested my sincerity,” Mr. Warathaphon told investigators. And I do n’t believe that doing so would ever make a person illegal to sell goods online. Numerous another businesses are doing the same thing.
He declined to say whether the stars who are alleged to be deeply involved in iCon’s business activities are even business professionals as some have claimed.
He claimed he had fully explained the company’s operations to the authorities and that he would prefer not to make the information people.
When questioned about whether he believed the significant costs that the broken functions reported to the police were the fault of his company, he said that must be supported by evidence.
He also refuted reports that he had previously reached a settlement with Sittra Biabungkerd to pay Sittra Biabungkerd’s full payment to a number of users the prosecutor claimed to represent. He claimed the attorney had not spoken to him and that he had never known Mr. Sittra.
Almost 500 issues
By providing website marketing programs for less than 100 ringgit, the iCom Group attracted a lot of people. However, when they enrolled, respondents claimed that they were asked to spend significantly more money on purchasing health substitute products to sell. After that, they were asked to pay for fees-paying online advertising to attract new users.
According to Pol Maj Gen Sophon Sarapat, deputy chief of the Central Investigation Bureau ( CIB ), which oversees the consumer protection police, the number of people filing fraud complaints with the police had reached 488 as of Saturday, with losses of 178 million baht.
Although records of how the company operated appeared to fit the definition of common scams, Mr. Warathaphon was never charged and was given the opportunity to leave after being interrogated.
Thephasu Bowonchotidara, secretary-general of the Amlo, confirmed that officers had asked it to look into the trades and resources of The image Group.  , Amlo researchers have now notified the lenders concerned, he said.
If the original data clearly points to scam, a suspect’s property can be seized to stop them from being siphoned off or shifted pending the outcome of studies, said Wittya Neetitham, an Amlo official.
In another growth, Kan Kantathavorn, a well-known TV host and artist who was identified as the marketing director of The image Group, claimed he was just hired to perform public relations for the business under a lease that he has already terminated.
He added that he had checked to make sure that every product he was hired to review was legitimate and safe for consumers before going on to actually test it out for the audience.
Yuranunt” Sam” Pamornmontri and Pechaya” Min” Wattanamontree, two other celebrities linked to the company, were also seen reporting to CPPD investigators on Saturday.
According to a reliable source, police searched nine locations in Bangkok and the surrounding provinces for more evidence earlier this morning.
The Medical Council of Thailand, meanwhile, said it could lodge a police complaint against Tananont Hiranchaiwan, another iCon executive, who always presented himself in public as being a certified medical doctor. He has a medical science degree, but it was claimed that he lost his medical license six years ago.
Yuranunt” Sam” Pamornmontri reports to Consumer Protection Police Division ( CPPD ) investigators on Saturday. ( Photo: Wassayos Ngamkham )