Assets held in longan scam
More than Bt130 million in assets belonging to people involved in the longan price intervention scheme have been seized under anti-money laundering laws, caretaker Agriculture Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan said yesterday.
Most of the money belonged to influential longan dealer Prasert Phoophisit and his relatives, who allegedly forged purchase orders issued by 19 longan-buying firms in northern provinces to longan growers. The suspects later received money on the growers' behalf. A working committee tracked Bt30 million made payable through cheques to growers but actually cashed by someone else and transferred to Prasert's relatives. Bangkok Bank took responsibility for the illegal cheque-enabled payments and agreed to give Bt30 million to the Marketing Organisation for Farmers (MOF), which oversees the scheme. The Bt130 million was seized after the Civil Court enforced a request made by the Anti-Money Laundering Office.
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