Officers from the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) swooped yesterday and arrested a prominent Thai lawyer and his wife on charges of fraud and money laundering, in the wake of the sensational case involving 71 million baht and a Thai millionaire in France.
The Thai millionaire, who normally resides in France, Jatuporn “Madam Oi” Ubonlert, returned to Thailand to file a lawsuit against the renowned lawyer, Sittha Biabangkerd, accusing him of swindling 71 million baht from her in an investment scam.
Jatuporn stated that Sittha persuaded her to invest in an online lottery-selling platform but the business failed to develop. However, Sittha defended himself, claiming that Jatuporn gave him the money as a gratuitous gift.
Jatuporn attended four rounds of questioning with the police before the CSD issued arrest warrants for both Sittha and his wife on charges of fraud and money laundering.
Sittha and his wife, Patidta Biabangkerd, were intercepted in the middle of their journey in the Phanom Sarakham district in the central province of Chachoengsao. The couple had left their home in the Taling Chan area of Bangkok at 9.30am that morning in a brown Porsche Cayenne.
Police searched the car and found their luggage, bedding, and a folder of documents inside. The couple claimed they were on their way to make merit at a temple and had no intention of fleeing from the charges.
11-hour questioning
A separate team of officers raided Sittha’s luxury house in Bangkok, seizing the couple’s belongings and valuables, including designer bags worth more than 1 million baht. These items were taken to the CSD office for further investigation.
Sittha and his wife were taken to the CSD office yesterday, where they were questioned for over 11 hours. The couple were escorted from the questioning room this morning, November 8, and transferred to a detention room.
Sittha’s lawyer, Saiyud Pengboonchu, spoke to the media, stating that Sittha was not stressed about the criminal case and was prepared for arrest five days ago. He even put on a suit and waited for the police at home but no one arrived.
After realising the police would not show up at his home, Sittha decided to travel with his wife to a temple in Chachoengsao province yesterday. Saiyud insisted that the couple did not attempt to escape arrest. He acknowledged that Sittha’s wife was stressed and fearful of being jailed.
Bail request for wife
Saiyud also explained that he and Sittha already prepared all the documents and evidence to prove Sittha’s innocence. He believed that Sittha would ultimately receive justice.
Many people who previously had issues with Sittha came forward to speak about him. Some expressed satisfaction that Sittha had finally been arrested, describing it as karma for his past actions.
Another prominent lawyer, Daecha Kittiwittayanan, initially supported his friend Sittha. However, Daecha stated on his Facebook account yesterday that, after reviewing all the evidence, he had switched sides. He confirmed that it was clear his friend had been in the wrong.
Daecha also announced this morning that Sittha would submit a bail request today but only for his wife, not for himself.
UPDATE 1: Thai millionaire reveals lawyer’s 71 million baht fraud, political links
A Thai millionaire returned to Thailand from France to take legal action against a well-known lawyer, who allegedly swindled 71 million baht from her. She also disclosed a secret meeting in Hong Kong involving high-ranking Thai politicians.
The millionaire, Jatuporn “Madam Oi” Ubonlert, attended an interview with former political activist Sondhi Limthongkul to publicly reveal the details of the issues with prominent lawyer Sittha Biabangkerd.
Jatuporn explained that she became a millionaire and bakery owner after winning a lottery in France in 2020, scooping 5 billion baht. Several Thai media outlets reported that Jatuporn donated more than 10 million baht to various organisations and schools during the pandemic.
She admitted that she became a fan of Sittha after he successfully brought justice to a former police officer, Jarun Wimul, who had a dispute with teacher Preecha Kraikuan over a 30 million baht lottery prize.
Jatuporn asked her Thai secretary, Noi, to contact Sittha, in regards to hiring him for around 30,000 baht monthly to manage her legal affairs. Their relationship grew closer, leading Jatuporn to increase Sittha’s salary to 300,000 baht per month.
Jatuporn hoped Sittha would assist her with numerous tasks but his performance did not meet her expectations. Consequently, she ended the contract with Sittha and decided to hire him only for specific cases instead. Sittha attempted to renew the contract by contacting Noi but was unsuccessful.
Hong Kong meeting
Sittha reportedly invited Jatuporn to invest in an online lottery-selling platform. He informed her that the largest operator of the platform in Thailand was facing a lawsuit and might soon be forced to close, offering them an opportunity to take over the business.
According to Jatuporn, Sittha claimed that his business plan was supported by many influential politicians. He mentioned that entering this business was not easy but he could manage it with the backing of these politicians.
Jatuporn agreed and transferred 2 million euros (approximately 71 million baht) to Sittha to develop the business. Sittha then arranged a trip to Hong Kong for Jatuporn last year, where she was to meet the influential politicians he had referred to.
Jatuporn stated that she met with the current Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, former Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob, and the current Public Health Minister Somsak Thepsuthin. Anutin took her to a dinner with other politicians and Sittha.
Anutin and Somsak later denied having a close relationship with Sittha or discussing the lottery-selling platform. Both politicians claimed that their meeting with Sittha and Jatuporn in Hong Kong was purely coincidental.
Jatuporn did not disclose the details of their discussions to the public. She only mentioned that nothing came of the meeting and that Sittha’s business plan went nowhere. She demanded her investment cost back but failed.
Taking over luxury car
Jatuporn said she became convinced she was deceived by Sittha when she discovered the truth about the Mercedes-Benz G-class G400 she asked Sittha to buy. She found that the car cost only 9 million baht, yet Sittha requested 12.9 million baht from her.
She added that she did not use the car as she was living in France but the mileage indicated it had already travelled 10,000 kilometres.
Jatuporn first used the vehicle during a visit to Pattaya, where she stayed at the Hilton Pattaya Hotel. When she drove the car into the hotel, a security guard informed her that he previously saw a Chinese national using the same vehicle.
This Chinese man reportedly caused a disturbance at the hotel, which almost led to Jatuporn being banned from entering with the car. This incident made her suspect that Sittha rented out her car without her permission.
Jatuporn also disclosed her suspicions that Sittha used her money to acquire various assets and valuables, and she vowed to pursue legal action against him to the fullest extent.
More accusations surface
More complaints against Sittha surfaced after Jatuporn came forward to expose his alleged deceitful behaviour. The former suspects in the death of the famous Thai actress, Nida “Tangmo” Patcharaveerapong, were the first group to file additional accusations against Sittha.
The former suspects, Wisapat “Sand” Manomaikrat, Tanupat “Por” Lerttaweewit, and Phaiboon “Robert” Trikanjananun, informed media outlets that Sittha volunteered to handle their case but they rejected him due to his dishonest approach to managing it.
According to the trio, Sittha urged Por and Robert to place the blame for Tangmo’s death on Sand, who was seated at the back of the boat. However, Robert and Por refused to accuse their innocent friend, rejecting the lawyer’s suggestion.
Sittha recently defended himself, denying the allegations and countering that the three were exploiting his current legal troubles to tarnish his reputation.
ORIGINAL STORY: Lawyer challenges activist to ‘pee’ wager in Thai millionaire swindle
A Thai female millionaire based in France filed a complaint through an activist against a famous lawyer for allegedly swindling 71 million baht from her. In response, the lawyer demands the mischief-making Thai activist to drink his own pee when he proves himself innocent.
Former Thai political activist Sondhi Limthongkul took to social media to accuse renowned Thai lawyer Sittha Biabangkerd of defrauding the millionaire, Jatuporn “Madam Oi” Ubonlert, of more than 71 million baht.
Following the accusation, Sittha appeared on the news programme Hone Krasae, asserting that he received the money legally as a gratuitous gift. He stated that Jatuporn also found his children adorable and offered to support their education abroad as well.
In a bold response to the allegations, Sittha dared Sondhi to consume his own urine if he was proven innocent and free from any wrongdoing. Sondhi accepted the challenge, saying he would bow down to Sittha’s feet if he could present evidence showing that he legally received the money and paid the required taxes.
Sondhi insisted that Jatuporn did not gift the money to Sittha but was tricked into investing in a government lottery-selling platform. However, Sittha allegedly did not invest the money in their business and instead used it to buy a luxury house and fund his holidays abroad.
Sondhi also accused Sittha of stealing Jatuporn’s luxury car. He claimed that Jatuporn asked Sittha to buy the car on her behalf to use when she visited Thailand but Sittha was reportedly seen using the car himself.
Jatuporn is reportedly living in France with her foreign husband but she is now in Thailand to resolve the issue. She provided Sondhi’s claim and filed a complaint against Sittha at Pak Chong Police Station in the Isaan province of Nakhon Ratchasima.
The millionaire revealed to the police that she initially hired Sittha for 300,000 baht per month to manage her businesses in both Thailand and abroad in a legal-related matter. She trusted him and continued to transfer money to him for business management and investments but he allegedly kept all the funds for himself.
Sittha continued to deny the accusations and insisted that he was not worried about the matter, expressing confidence in his innocence. He stated that he did not wish to say much more and would wait for the truth to clear his name.
The case was later transferred from Pak Chong district, and police are planning to summon Jatuporn for questioning soon, hoping that the matter will become clearer next week.
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