Thai actress Thamolphan Phanuchitputthiwong, better known as “Yam” Thamolphan, has been arrested along with her husband, Phumphat Prasertwit, and another man, Chetchai Hongkham on Thursday (Dec 15).
Thai media reported that all three suspects were apprehended at a house in Nonthaburi, Thailand, and taken to Bangkok Remand Prison for allegedly disseminating pornographic materials, organising online gambling and conspiring to launder money.
Police impounded various assets during the criminal bust.
Among the assets seized include 14 vehicles, four houses, eight high-end watches, 50 branded bags, five computers and 18 mobile phones. Police also issued a freezing order on 44 bank accounts.
According to the commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), Lieutenant General Jirabhop Bhuridej, the combined worth of assets seized totalled up to 700mil baht (RM88.17mil).
Jirabhop revealed that his team spent over two years investigating the gambling network and the porn site. After following the two sites' money trails, police discovered that both were linked to Yam and her computer programmer husband.
According to The Bangkok Post, Yam and her husband were denied bail on Friday (Dec 16) after the court deemed that their wealth was acquired illegally. Their accomplice, Chetchai, did not request bail.
Thai media reported that Chetchai made cash withdrawals up to 400mil baht (RM50.7mil) between April and September on the orders of Yam.
The couple’s gambling site has around 40,000 members, with 7bil baht (RM887.52mil) in monthly turnover.