Police skeptical of Panadda’s fraud claims against husband
Commander of the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), Pol. Maj-Gen. Thaspoom Charuprach, said today that he is not convinced of the claim by Panadda Wongphudee, suspended chairwoman of the ‘Do Good Foundation’, that she was defrauded by her husband, Atip Anantawan, because she was accountable for financial affairs of the foundation.
Panadda filed a complaint with the CSD yesterday, accusing Atip and a contractor responsible for the construction of a pool villa in Phuket, identified as Apichart, of defrauding the foundation of about 50 million baht.
She told the media, however, that she would be held accountable if she is at fault and is ready to enter the judicial process to prove her innocence. She apologised to donors to the foundation and admitted that she is perhaps guilty of trusting the people around her too much.
Thaspoom said that police enquiry officers do attach much importance to Panadda’s claim that she was defrauded by her husband and that she knew nothing about the alleged misuse of the foundation’s donations.
He also said that Atip could claim that Panadda knew nothing about the alleged misuse of the foundations donations, but the case will determined by the evidence, including circumstantial evidence, as well as testimonies of the auditor and accountant.
Meanwhile, contractor Apichart reported to the Central Investigation Bureau yesterday to be questioned about the pool villa project and the money that was transferred to his account by the foundation.
His lawyer, Amnuaiporn Maneewan, told the media that 75 million baht in total was transferred to Apichart’s account, 63 million baht from the foundation and from someone’s personal account and 12 million baht in cash from Panadda.
Apichart insisted that the pool villa project was a joint investment project between Atip and himself and he would not say whether Panadda knew about it. He added that he met Panadda twice, once at the construction site and once at a restaurant on the same day.
Another former actress, ‘Araya’, showed up yesterday at the CSD to be questioned as a witness.