DSI arms itself with arrest warrant to ensnare top Stark shareholder in fraud case
Stark Corporation’s largest shareholder Vonnarat Tangkaravakoon is being monitored by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) after an arrest warrant was issued against him, DSI’s acting director-general Yutthana Praedam said on Saturday.
He said DSI officials were dispatched to the hospital where Vonnarat was undergoing surgery.
“We had to get an arrest warrant issued and are keeping an eye on Vonnarat for fear that we may fail to capture him when he is discharged from hospital,” the DSI chief told Krungthep Thurakij, a sister publication of The Nation.
He said Vonnarat missed an appointment to hear the public prosecutors’ decision in this case on Friday, because the businessman had to undergo heart surgery.
DSI officials are expected to hand Vonnarat over to public prosecutors for indictment on Monday, and it is likely that he will be taken to the Criminal Court for further proceedings on the same day, an informed source said.
Vonnarat is among 11 suspects – seven individuals and four companies – accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of fraud and concealment of the wire and cable manufacturing company’s accumulated loss of 12 billion baht.
The four companies are Stark, which is listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, and its three affiliates.
The alleged irregularities are estimated to have caused 14.7 billion baht in damages affecting more than 4,700 people – many of them investors in Stark shares and debentures.
Public prosecutors have filed lawsuits against nine of the 11 suspects for allegedly manipulating accounts and financial statements in violation of the Securities and Exchange Act. They are also accused of public fraud, embezzlement and money laundering. One suspect is at large.
Vonnarat is the eldest son of Prachak Tangkaravakoon, who chairs TOA Paint (Thailand) Plc, the largest paint manufacturer in Southeast Asia. He reportedly also owns a stake in TOA Paint, which has three plants in Thailand, and more factories in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Cambodia.
