Dr Boon’s case could go beyond public fraud
Police suspect several other investors, many of them well-known personalities, have still not come forward to file complaints
The high-profile case of hospital tycoon Dr Boon Vanasin could go beyond scamming the public into investing in fake projects and potentially involves deeper corruption within Thailand’s capital market, a source familiar with the matter has revealed.
Boon, 86, allegedly used his credentials as the founder of Thonburi Hospital and chairman of the Thonburi Healthcare Group (THG) board to take out loans and lure investments worth billions of baht to fund five huge healthcare projects.
So far, 527 victims have filed complaints claiming total losses of more than 7 billion baht.
On November 22, the Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Boon and eight others, including his ex-wife and daughter. Police believe the well-known doctor fled to China in September.
The source told Krungthep Turakij newspaper on Tuesday that Boon might have taken loans using THG shares as collateral in illegal transactions since 2022. The case came out into the open this year after some of the creditors found that they could not cash cheques issued by the suspects.
The source said despite the case already having hundreds of victims filing complaints, there are still many others who have not come forward, fearing that their involvement in the scam will be made public, destroying their reputation.
Among them are executives of large listed companies, well-known business and political families, and high-ranking medical professionals, claimed the source.
It added that several business leaders trusted Boon’s credentials and granted him loans, including those in the construction materials, telecommunication, real estate, and entertainment sectors.
The source revealed that these loans promised a high interest rate of 8-9%, attracting investors who believed that the healthcare industry would continue to grow after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Former Bangkok MP Tankhun Jitt-itsara said on Tuesday that more victims would come forward after December 12, which is the deadline for the repayment of Boon’s loans. He believed that the total “real” damages caused by Boon’s scam could amount to 40 billion baht.
Boon might be planning to escape from China to Europe, where he would use his connections to hide from authorities, said Tankhun, who is the chairman of the Santi Pracha Dhamma Club, an NGO dedicated to promoting social justice.
