Political activist Sonthiya Sawasdee is pressing for a money-laundering investigation into the Gun Jompalang Chuai Su Foundation and its alleged involvement with a government lottery quota of 200,000 tickets.
In a petition filed on Friday with the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo), Mr Sonthiya argued that the arrangement may constitute money laundering and unfairly benefit the wealthy at the expense of ordinary citizens.
He said the foundation was registered on Feb 5, and the public has been led to believe that social activist Guntouch ‘Gun Jompalang’ Pongpaiboonwet, who has more than 9 million followers on Facebook, holds an executive role in it.
Though his name has been used for fundraising and promotional activities, Mr Guntouch has admitted he was not a chairman or board member of the foundation.
Mr Sonthiya also pointed to Article 39 of the foundation’s charter, which stated that if it is dissolved, its assets would be transferred to the Thamanat Prompow Foundation, run by Agriculture Minister Thamanat Prompow.
Thamanat and Mr Guntouch have collaborated frequently on relief projects and the activist even had access to a government helicopter used by the ministry.
Mr Guntouch and members of his foundation last week held a news conference to clarify its status, saying the decision to name the Thamanat foundation as a beneficiary was made in haste and had been rescinded. A new foundation has been named as a beneficiary but its name was not disclosed.
The activist also pledged to ensure more transparency in the accounting of the foundation, which has taken in more than 200 million baht in public donations.
Mr Sonthiya urged the Amlo to find out if donations from citizens are transparently managed.
He further questioned reports that the foundation receives a special lottery quota of 200,000 tickets per draw, a privilege far exceeding the allocations given to small vendors and disabled individuals.
Many poor and disabled sellers cannot even access quotas of 2,000 tickets, he said, while some wealthy influential figures make profits by reselling tickets at inflated prices.
He demanded that the Amlo summon both the director of the Government Lottery Office (GLO) and the chairperson of the Thamanat Prompow Foundation for questioning.
Mr Sonthiya said he would also ask the police Central Investigation Bureau to conduct a parallel criminal investigation.