By Thai Newsroom Reporters
THE ELECTION Commission was today (Oct.15) suggested to see whether a specified amount of cash which a notorious lawmaker had earlier donated to the Bhumjaithai, core of the current coalition government, was literally ill-gotten gains which could possibly lead to dissolution of the largest ruling party.
Former Democrat MP Sirichok Sopa called on the polling agency to promptly find out whether the 150,000 baht cash donated by Bhumjaithai MP Suchada Zhang Tansap for her ruling party may be considered the ill-gotten money, given allegations that her spouse, namely Taiyang Zhang, an Australian national of Chinese descent, has been allegedly involved in a transnational money-laundering scam and reportedly invested in an online gambling business, namely Shuffle.com, registered in Curacao whilst the first-time lawmaker herself has allegedly concealed part of their shared assets earlier declared to the National Anti-Corruption Commission.
The 150,000 baht cash, albeit considered a relatively small sum, has been reportedly donated by the MP of Chaiyapum for the Bhumjaithai before she was elected to the House of Representatives earlier this year. Suchada has donated 10,000 baht monthly before she was elected an MP and the sum of her donation increased to 30,000 baht monthly after she became one.
Suchada had been previously named secretary to former higher education, science, research & innovation minister Supamas Isarapakdee and then secretary to Digital Economy & Society Minister Chaichanok Chidchob during a previous minority government under Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.
She could probably be charged with getting “unusually rich” due to her alleged possession of the ill-gained wealth whilst the Bhumjaithai, core of the coalition government steered behind the scenes by de facto party boss Newin Chidchob, could possibly be dissolved by court if found guilty of having received such illegal money, no matter the amount and knowingly or unawares.
The NACC has earlier found the Zhang family’s reported incomes were not in proportion to their declared assets and launched investigation into scandals of wealth concealment in regard to undeclared, potential incomes from the online casino, plus a 75 million baht condo and an 11 million baht luxury sedan, among others. The Zhang family has earlier declared to the anti-graft agency to possess some 1.9 billion baht in shared assets.
Taiyang, previously known as a serial entrepreneur in crypto industry, has been reported as investor of Natural Nine BV Casinos, which owns and operates Shuffle.com online casino through which some gamblers in Thailand have allegedly placed bets and also been suspected of perpetrating money-laundering activity after he had loaned some 1.4 billion baht to a Singapore-based crypto trading firm, namely Three Arrows Capital, which was declared bankrupt by a British Virgin Islands court four years ago. Any betting activity for money either in gambling dens or online is definitely illegal in Thailand.
CAPTIONS:
Top and Front Page: Bhumjaithai MP Suchada Zhang Tansap.
Insert: Former Democrat MP Sirichok Sopa. Both photos – Naewna
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