- Photo: The Nation/ANN
BANGKOK: The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct on Saturday (Nov 16) approved an arrest warrant for Kritanong Suwanwong, also known as "Jephat", on charges of extortion and acting as an intermediary for bribery, related to allegations of demanding money from suspects in The iCon Group network.
Police officers from the Crime Suppression Division had sought approval to conduct searches at two locations linked to Kritanong, chairwoman of the Coordination and Promotion Centre for Online Networks.
These included her residence in the Ladprao of Bangkok area and another house in a residential area in Khlong 5, Thanyaburi district, Pathum Thani province.
Police arrested her at the Khlong 5 residence. Upon arrival, officers found Kritanong inside the house, read the warrant to her, and conducted a search of the premises to gather additional evidence. She was then taken to the Crime Suppression Division for further legal proceedings.
The arrest warrant and subsequent apprehension stemmed from evidence of financial transactions, including a transfer of 450,000 baht from Waratphon Waratvorakul, also known as "Boss Paul", of The iCon Group, to the "Kritanong Anti-Corruption and Ponzi Scheme Foundation".
Additionally, 300,000 baht in cash was allegedly handed to her by Boss Paul.
Witness testimonies corroborated the evidence, indicating that after The iCon Group network business scandal became public, Kritanong approached Boss Paul and his associates, demanding 750,000 baht in exchange for not taking further legal action or exposing the matter further, which could have damaged the company.
She also allegedly offered legal advice and reassurances to compel Boss Paul to pay the requested amount.
Testimonies from witnesses and the investigation revealed that Kritanong claimed portions of the money would be given to officials or influential figures, aligning with the evidence that led to the arrest warrant.
Furthermore, the investigation uncovered that while Kritanong facilitated negotiations resulting in Boss Paul paying 10 million baht in compensation to affected parties, she later demanded 20% of the refunded amount from the victims as a fee.
The iCon Group case is a special investigation involving executives and employees of The iCon Group Co Ltd accused of fraudulent practices by luring people into investing in the direct-sales outfit but failing to fulfil their promises.
The case implicates several Thai actors and celebrities.
On October 16, a court issued arrest warrants for 18 suspects.
All were apprehended on the same day, and the court denied bail for all defendants. - The Nation/ANN
