EC dismisses complaint against PPRP, probe into Bhumjaithai continues
No evidence to back allegations that the donations party received from Tu Hao were earned illegally; the result of an investigation into funds donated to Bhumjaithai expected in a month
The Election Commission (EC) has dismissed a complaint against the Palang Pracharath Party alleging that it received funding from a so-called Chinese crime boss, the EC secretary-general said.
Sawaeng Boomee said on Sunday that the EC had decided to dismiss the complaint because no authorised government agency could prove that the donation had come from illegal businesses as claimed by the complainant, Srisuwan Janya.
In October 2022, Srisuwan filed a complaint with the EC, demanding that the party be dissolved for having received a donation from a naturalised Thai, Chaiyanat Kornchaiyanon.
Chaiyanat, aka Tu Hao, is believed to have run a gambling den for Chinese tourists in the guise of a pub in Bangkok.
The pub was raided in October 2022 and Tu Hao was arrested in November that year. On January 13, 2023, police found that he owned about 8.56 billion baht in assets and managed to freeze 5.34 billion worth.
Sawaeng explained that the EC had no way of proving that the money donated to PPRP had come from Tu Hao’s allegedly illegal businesses. He said such decisions need to be made by an agency in charge, such as the Anti-Money Laundering Office.
Hence, he said, since it cannot decide on the issue, the EC had to drop its investigation against PPRP.
In another case questioning donations made to the Bhumjaithai Party, Sawaeng said the case was still under investigation by a fact-finding committee.
On February 21, lawyer Thirayut Suwankesorn, filed a complaint against Bhumjaithai with the EC alleging that it had received donations from Buri-Charoen Construction.
Thirayut filed the complaint after the Constitutional Court ruled on January 17 this year that Saksayam Chidchob secretly held shares in Buri-Charoen while he was transport minister. The court ruled to dismiss Saksayam as a Cabinet member retroactively as of March 3, 2023, when he was suspended from duty on grounds of conflict of interest. He was accused of awarding projects to the construction firm in which he secretly held a stake.
The lawyer claimed the construction firm had won projects unlawfully, so its donation should be regarded as illegal money.
Sawaeng said the investigative panel would need about another month to complete the probe. He added that this type of complaint does not result in a party dissolution penalty.
