By Thai Newsroom Reporters
DE FACTO KLATHAM BOSS Thammanat Prompao and Klatham leader Narumon Pinyosinwat have been summoned by a House committee for testimony scheduled for tomorrow (Oct.30) over their alleged personal association with a South African-born wheeler-dealer who had been covertly involved in Cambodia-based scammer networks.
House Committee on State Security, Border Affairs and National Strategies & Reforms Chair Rangsiman Rome confirmed today (Oct.29) Thammanat, currently a deputy prime minister-cum-agriculture & cooperatives minister, and Narumon, currently the education minister, were anticipated to testify before the House panel to truthfully respond to allegations that they had been more or less associated with Benjamin Mauerberger, also known as Ben Smith, the notorious wheeler-dealer suspected by the United States, the United Kingdom and other members of the world community of being clandestinely linked with those transnational rogue scammers based in Cambodia.
However, it remains to be seen whether both will be showing up for tomorrow’s testimony at parliament after they had earlier failed to do so, according to the House committee chair who is concurrently one of the People’s MPs digging into the scandalous issue of the scammer rackets located in Cambodia and preying on Thai and world victims.
In addition to Thammanat and Narumon, the House Committee on State Security, Border Affairs and National Strategies & Reforms has summoned Warah Sucharitkul, vice president of Finansia X Pcl., and former finance minister Vorapak Tanyawong for testimony on the same issue since they had been also suspected of fostering connections with those scammer networks. Vorapak, a former president of the state-owned Krungthai Bank, has recently resigned under pressure as member of the Bhumjaithai-led cabinet for being allegedly associated with a Cambodia-based business conglomerate, namely BIC Group, which has been allegedly linked with the transnational racketeers.
Those who have been summoned by Rangsiman’s panel could possibly be more or less linked with BIC Group chair Yim Leak. Both Ben Smith and Yim Leak are known as advisers to senior Cambodian leader Hun Sen who had allegedly, terminally reaped ill-gotten profits from scammer networks based in his own country where he had ruled for four decades before he was succeeded by his son Hun Manet as today’s Cambodian prime minister.
Rangsiman repeatedly called on Prime Minister-cum-Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to shed light in the public over sustained allegations that several Thai politicians including a few in the current cabinet of ministers had been suspected of connection with or involvement in the Cambodia-based scammer rackets.
“The United States and United Kingdom are geographically far away but they have effectively taken action against scammer networks in Cambodia. Thailand which is literally near has not yet taken a concrete action. It’s not that we do not have relevant information. In fact, we do have information and we have a lot of it.
“We do not only know who those scammers are and who else among the suspected foreign scammers in that country are but who among the Thai politicians currently living in Thailand are and how they have gotten themselves involved in the rogue rackets,” the People’s MP said without naming names.
The House committee chair insisted that the prime minister take rapid, effective action against those suspected of involvement in or connection with the Cambodia-based scammers which, he said, are no longer a problem of Thailand alone but of the whole world community.
Government critics have aired concerns over the probability that Anutin might be so desperate and helpless in effort to combat the transnational scammer networks that he might opt out by dissolving the House of Representatives to call a general election as soon as by early December, passing the unresolved, challenging issue onto a post-election government.
CAPTIONS:
Top and Front Page – Klatham de facto boss Thammanat Prompao and party leader Narumon Pinyosinwat. Photo – Naewna
Insert – House Committee on State Security, Border Affairs and National Strategies & Reforms Chair Rangsiman Rome. Photo – Thai Rath
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