Famous victim advocate lawyer charged in Bt2.5m extortion case

Victim advocate lawyer Atchariya Ruangrattanapong is facing a 2.5-million-baht extortion charge, involving an official within the immigration bureau. He was released on bail today.

The Criminal Court in Bangkok required 400,000 baht in cash as a surety for his release.

Prosecutors allege that Atchariya extorted payments from a victim by threatening harm to their reputation and career.

Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) Commissioner Pol Lt Gen Natthasak Chaowanasai said at a press conference on Wednesday that the police received a complaint from Pol Col Watcharapol Kanchanakanthon, chief of the Sub-Division 3 Investigation Division of the Immigration Bureau, in February.

Atchariya, who is the president of the Help Crime Victims Club, famous for helping the impoverished through legal processes that it deems unfair, allegedly went on a live stream to claim that Pol Col Watcharapol was involved in the illegal removal of Chinese detainees from an immigration detention centre.

Another defendant in the extortion plot, Pol Col Kawinsak Peerayosthonnont, deputy commander of Border Patrol Police Region 4, then allegedly approached Watcharapol, as both were classmates, and acted as a mediator.

According to the CIB, the defendants demanded one million baht to stop publicising the claims, but that meeting ended without any payment.

Another meeting followed and Pol Col Watcharapol decided to pay 2.5 billion baht, as then demanded, to clear the matter with Atchariya.

Police ultimately arrested Atchariya at a restaurant in Bangkok on Tuesday. Five more people were also charged with offences related to the same matter, including Pol Col Kawinsak, and were arrested in various parts of the country, police said. All of them have denied the allegations.

The suspects operated with a clear structure. The first group consisted of influencers, the second was responsible for intimidation and creating conditions to force the victims to agree to pay and the third group was responsible for receiving the money, according to prosecutors.

All three groups were interconnected, and the payments and process began in early 2026 and continued thereafter, according to police.

Pol Col Kawinsak was also granted bail with 200,000 baht in cash as a surety.