Billions of baht embezzled from Klong-chan Credit Union Cooperative may have been spirited away overseas, investigators say, as evidence comes to light of high-paying pyramid schemes and falsified balance sheets.
Pol Lt Col Pakorn Sucheewakul, head of the Department of Special Investigation team probing the 12 billion baht scandal and links to Wat Phra Dhammakaya, said on Saturday that there were several transactions involving overseas money transfers.
He said investigators were following the money trail to see where the embezzled funds went and who was involved.
Pol Lt Col Pakorn said the DSI had asked the Bank of Thailand for information on the overseas transfers.
A DSI source said investigators also found evidence that supported accusations that Supachai Srisupa-aksorn, the former chairman of Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative, and his accomplices had used the cooperative to operate a pyramid scheme.
He said the cooperative’s balance sheets were altered to exaggerate profit figures in order to attract deposits from other cooperatives.
They were able to convince 82 cooperatives to deposit money with Klongchan by offering to pay a 10% dividend, which exceeded the 7% rate allowed by law, the source said.
The total deposits from the 82 cooperatives amounted to almost 8 billion baht.
The cooperatives include Chulalongkorn University Savings, Rajavithi Hospital Savings and Credit, Royal Thai Police Savings and Credit, Pathum Thani Teachers Savings and Credit and Nakhon Ratchasima Teachers Savings.
The source said DSI deputy chief Pol Col Phaisit Wongmuang has ordered a probe into tax payments by Mr Supachai and companies of which he was a board member.
The probe is intended to find out how Mr Supachai used the receipts issued by the Dhammakaya temple for his donations — worth almost a billion baht — to claim tax deductions.
The DSI will also investigate connections between Mr Supachai and members of judging panels who chose him as the recipient of several awards in the past, such as an outstanding cooperative leader award in 2007 and a world Buddhist outstanding leader award last year.
On Friday, the DSI revealed it had investigated 878 cheques worth 11.3 billion baht paid by the cooperative and authorised by Mr Supachai.
Of them, 43 were worth 932 million baht and were paid to Wat Phra Dhammakaya and the temple’s monks, including the abbot, Phra Dhammachayo.
In addition, 27 cheques worth 348 million baht were paid to temple followers close to Mr Supachai, including 12 worth 272 million baht paid to former Wat Phra Dhammakaya monk Sataporn Wattanasirikul and his SW Holding Group, and three worth 46 million baht paid to Mongkol Setthi Credit Union Coperative founded by Mr Supachai.
A further 135 cheques worth 2.56 billion baht were paid to a group comprising Ratpracha Credit Union Cooperative, Jiradet Wongpiankul and Watchanont Navaisararak. There were also 658 cheques worth 7.2 billion baht which were paid to other juristic people and went through various overseas transfers.
Mr Supachai on Friday denied any role in alleged embezzlement linked to donations to the temple.
He said he made two donations worth 672 million baht — 386 million baht to the temple and 286 million baht to the abbot — in 2009 and 2010. The money came from loans he took out from the cooperative.
He said he followed proper loan regulations and procedures and had already repaid the borrowed money as shown in the cooperative’s annual audit report.
He denied claims he had siphoned money from the cooperative and insisted the controversial temple and its abbot had nothing to do with the scandal.
Phadej Mungthanya, the current chairman of Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative, said on Saturday that Mr Supachai had not yet returned the borrowed money as claimed.
The cooperative is also pursuing a civil lawsuit against Wat Phra Dhammakaya.