Suphitcha Jaravijit, the elder sister of actor and fraud suspect Jiratpisit Jaravijit, surrendered to police early on Wednesday morning to fight accusations of allegedly conspiring with others in a crime.
Suphitcha is alleged to have cooperated with her family members in conspiring to cheat a Finnish person out of bitcoins worth nearly Bt800 million, said Pol Colonel Chakrit Sawasdee, deputy chief of the Crime Suppression Bureau.
Police have gathered documents related to what Chakrit said were incriminating money transactions. Police would soon apply for arrest warrants for five to six more suspects, he added.
Police spoke with Suphitcha in the presence of her lawyer as they sought to clarify information they had obtained. They were particularly focused on alleged money transactions between her and her elder brother, Parinya Jaravijit, who is also a suspect in this case, Chakrit said.
Jiratpisit’s elder brother, Parinya, who is still a fugitive, allegedly has a bank account worth Bt111.9 million, while his elder sister, Supitcha, allegedly has a bank account worth Bt140.1 million – the discovery of which led to their arrest warrants on money-laundering charges.
Jiratpisit, who was granted a Bt2 million bail for temporary release, told police investigators after his arrest that he was innocent. He told police that his bank account was used by Parinya – who police allege had opened several companies in Thailand and Hong Kong in connection with the case.
Finnish bitcoin owner Aarni Otava Saarimaa has told police that he was lured into transferring bitcoins worth almost Bt800 million to the Thai suspects for further investment in Thai and other securities, as well as for use in Macau casinos.
The victim’s complaint led to the ongoing investigation. Meanwhile the Anti-Money Laundering Office also joined in to freeze the bank accounts of 51 suspects and seize title deeds for 15 tracts of land worth a combined Bt176 million, as they were allegedly acquired using ill-gotten gains.
