CIB deputy chief vows to unmask iCon Group’s ‘guardian angels’
Investigators believe the CEO’s phone contains evidence of bribes paid to top government officials in exchange for overlooking fraudulent activities
All senior government officials who turned a blind eye to the alleged Ponzi scheme operations of iCon Group will be unmasked, the deputy chief of the Central Investigation Bureau said.
Pol Maj-General Jaroonkiat Pankaew said on Monday that he has obtained a smartphone owned by the group’s CEO Waranthaphon "Boss Paul" Wratyaworrakul, and believes it contains information and evidence of the alleged bribe-taking by officials in key government agencies.
Waranthaphon was among the 18 iCon Group executives arrested last Wednesday for allegedly defrauding the public.
Before the arrests, audio clips of Waranthaphon saying he had paid bribes to executives of several agencies to turn a blind eye to his business had gone viral. The agencies mentioned include the Consumer Protection Board, the Anti-Money Laundering Office and the Department of Special Investigations.
Waranthaphon was heard referring to the alleged bribe takers as “guardian angels” who received offerings from him.
Jaroonkiat said investigators could not access the audio clips recorded on the phone because it was password protected.
He said police investigators had to wait for the suspect’s mandatory five-day quarantine period at the Bangkok Remand Prison to be completed before they could interrogate him and get him to unlock the phone.
Jaroonkiat said he would seek cooperation from the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Technology Crime Suppression Division to check the audio clips.
“I’m not under pressure and I’ll arrest those ‘angels’,” Jaroonkiat said.
