PUBLISHED : 28 Oct 2024 at 16:27
Police handed The iCon Group case file to the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) on Monday so it can be treated as a special case.
The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) transferred to the DSI 18 boxes containing the complaints of 325 victims of the alleged pyramid scheme operated by the company, which promoted online sales of its products through its agents and their sellers.
CIB Deputy Commissioner Pol Maj Gen Suwat Saengnum said there were more files in the case still to be handed over.
More than 8,000 complaints declaring losses totalling 2.41 billion baht related to the iCon business have been received from people in provinces nationwide and Thais overseas.
Pol Maj Gen Suwat said police investigators would continue working on the case until the DSI formally accepts it as a special case. He also promised full cooperation by police.
Deputy Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai said earlier that letting the DSI take over the case would boost the effectiveness of the investigation.
All 18 suspects, each dubbed “boss” in the iCon marketing hierarchy, were arrested on Oct 16 after many people filed fraud complaints against the company, which sold health and dietary supplements.
All the suspects, including founder and CEO Warathaphon “Boss Paul” Waratyaworrakul have been charged with colluding in public fraud and putting false information into a computer system. Some are celebrities who received tens of millions of baht. They have all denied the charges.
Pol Maj Gen Suwat said police would press more charges as new evidence warrants, and so would the DSI.