PUBLISHED : 12 Dec 2023 at 04:49
The Office of the Attorney-General’s (OAG) Special Cases Office is establishing a committee for the next stage of investigating individuals allegedly involved in scandal-hit Stark Corp, said Wirun Chanthananan, Director of Public Prosecution.
Mr Wirun said on Monday the committee would consist of 5-7 prosecutors from the office, working on the details gathered from 22 case report boxes, which include at least 130 files.
After the committee’s review of the witness reports, the first hearing for the suspects will follow on Jan 12.
If the prosecutors believe the witness reports are unfinished due to a lack of essential evidence, the committee will notify the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) added Mr Wirun.
The DSI submitted the Stark case and all accusations against its escaped former chairman, Chanin Yensudchai, and the other 11 suspects on Dec 8 for further scrutiny.
The case is under public scrutiny, said Mr Wirun, due to the damage it caused to the stock market. He said at least 4,000 people have been affected by the scandal, which resulted in about 14 billion baht of damages.
Stark Corp, four of its subsidiaries, and five individuals are accused of financial misconduct, which includes colluding with others to produce false financial statements in 2021 and 2022.
According to Mr Wirun, the Special Cases Office is also investigating money laundering, with the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) seizing around 349 million baht in total linked to the case last month.
Overall, Amlo has seized at least 10 billion baht in assets and transferred them to the state over the past two years, he added.