Police probe team says Surachate likely involved in money laundering

Pol General Winai Thongsong, one of the members of the fact-finding and legal review committee regarding the conflict related to internal personnel within the Royal Thai Police Office, revealed the progress made by them.

He said that the audit committee had invited all relevant parties, including Surachate and National Police chief Pol General Torsak “Big Tai” Sukvimon, for questioning, among a total of 30 individuals. They have been told to submit factual explanations by April 30.

After examining the evidence and questioning all relevant witnesses, Winai said the committee's initial opinion aligned with the Criminal Court's suspicion that Surachate was involved in wrongdoing, specifically money laundering. This was evident from the financial trails leading from online gambling websites to bank accounts with connections traced to him. Winai said the committee believes that Surachate was aware of and benefited partially from these actions. However, further examination of additional evidence was still required, he added.

Winai confirmed that the committee's investigation had drawn its initial conclusions before the court had issued an arrest warrant for Surachate on Tuesday. Once all information from Surachate's side is complete, the report would be submitted to the prime minister, without waiting for the results of the fact-finding investigation on Torsak. He said though it was possible to get an extension of the 60-day deadline for completion of the probe, they were committed to completing the process within the time frame while ensuring fairness to all parties.

He attributed the swift completion of the investigation into Surachate to the investigative officers collecting evidence for over seven months. However, this committee had gathered its own evidence from relevant individuals and did not rely on information from the investigative officers, he added.

In April 10, Sittra Biabangkert, also known as "Lawyer Tum", would be invited to provide information about the origins of the documents used for complaints and accusations against Pol General Torsak and his wife.

A dispute within the Royal Thai Police amid accusations of corruption had led to the two highest-ranking officers, Torsak and Surachate, being transferred to inactive posts in the Prime Minister’s Office for 60 days on March 20.

In February, Pol Maj-General Jaroonkiat Pankaew filed a complaint accusing Surachate of abusing his authority as well as being involved in bribe-taking and money laundering related to an online gambling site.

Surachate, known as an outspoken senior officer, has consistently denied these allegations. And one of his subordinates claimed that the gambling group had presented a big sum of money to a senior police officer whose name begins with “T".