Thai Anti-Crime Crusader Accused in $30M Online Gambling Probe

[free-bit.co.in]

Claims He Is Being Framed
The activist has spent years publicly challenging law enforcement and pursuing high-profile criminal cases. His Crime Victims Assistance Club frequently campaigns on behalf of people who believe they have been failed by police or the justice system.

I could see allegation that donation fund raised to assist crime victim were used for gambling.
However court has not yet verified this evidence.
If police attempted to frame him for their own personal interest then the way this banking trail is being presented is certainly not truth.

Furthermore, there is lack of impartial investigation into this matter.
Given that Acharya has long been vocal critic of corruption among senior police official, question remain regarding impartiality of any investigation conducted directly by Thai police.
imo, an impartial and independent investigation team is required for this case.

[Orpichukwu]

He will not be arrested without proof, so at the current situation the police is more believable, and I'm sure the police has evidence on hand because they could be sued if they violate the law by arresting someone without proof. The bank records, that is hard to deny, and we are talking of millions of dollars here, so that is already significant, and if the one that is arrested could not justify that, that could really put him in jail.

I don’t know how other countries work, but I can tell you for free that if a government in power wants to frame you in something, they can take their time to plan the framing and make things appear believable in such a way that others will question the integrity of who is being framed. I’m not defending the accused here, but I’m just trying to make it straight here that the government can be really deceiving when they are determined to do something.

[EluguHcman]

It is difficult to judge in such cases where both sides exchange accusations, as the police say they have evidence of Atchariya’s involvement, while he denies all these charges and says they are politically motivated because of his activism in helping victims of crime and exposing police corruption.

Yeah it could be hard to judge because you don't know who is telling the truth but from the look of things, the accuser in the person of the ativist Atchariya is too confident in denying the accuses.
But if I must take a side, I think that was really a political conspiracy laid against him just to find some legal reasons to indict him and send send him to jail or possibly force him to sign undertaking not to expose those agencies in uniforms with their criminality.

So the police may tend to shut him up from continually speaking to expose them.
So with his (Atchariya’s) boldness of not being guilty as the agencies claims, I think until they provides the evidence claimed, they can not be believed.

This also reminds me about some few innocent people I know being sent to prison for what offence they did not commit.
I just hope justice is served without the judge being biased in the law court.

[Darker45]

~snip~

Yeah it could be hard to judge because you don't know who is telling the truth but from the look of things, the accuser in the person of the ativist Atchariya is too confident in denying the accuses.
But if I must take a side, I think that was really a political conspiracy laid against him just to find some legal reasons to indict him and send send him to jail or possibly force him to sign undertaking not to expose those agencies in uniforms with their criminality.

So the police may tend to shut him up from continually speaking to expose them.
So with his (Atchariya’s) boldness of not being guilty as the agencies claims, I think until they provides the evidence claimed, they can not be believed.

This also reminds me about some few innocent people I know being sent to prison for what offence they did not commit.
I just hope justice is served without the judge being biased in the law court.

I also hope justice for this man. Unfortunately, however, Atchariya's Crime Victims Assistance Club wouldn't have existed in the first place and gained prominence if the justice system works well.

In all fairness, Atchariya's confident denials shouldn't be taken as proof that he didn't commit any crime. Denials should be made in confidence, or else it won't be convincing.

But, again, I'm also not saying what the public are shown with aren't fabricated. Records, even official ones, could easily be fabricated.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

He will not be arrested without proof, so at the current situation the police is more believable, and I'm sure the police has evidence on hand because they could be sued if they violate the law by arresting someone without proof. The bank records, that is hard to deny, and we are talking of millions of dollars here, so that is already significant, and if the one that is arrested could not justify that, that could really put him in jail.

I don’t know how other countries work, but I can tell you for free that if a government in power wants to frame you in something, they can take their time to plan the framing and make things appear believable in such a way that others will question the integrity of who is being framed. I’m not defending the accused here, but I’m just trying to make it straight here that the government can be really deceiving when they are determined to do something.

Yes, just being logical and fair here, it's obvious that the man is being accused could be fabricated. He could have tip and hurt many powerful individuals that's why they have to get him back and quiet with his exposure.

But for the majority of us, this is obvious a vendetta against him because their business has been exposed and could be losing money. Plus, there are a lot of powerful man behind it, even government officials that it's really sad that after what he has done, there are elements in the society that will get him down and worst, could silent him for good.

[ArabBTC]

Am just curious at OP, why did the government jail him immediately and await trial rather than a normal arrest? I felt the normal sequence is arrest, trial then if the victim is found guilty he will now be jailed, the background of the story looks to me like the government are just trying to get him out of the way since he has been an activist, else why are they so forward, i have experienced similar situations in my country whereby an activist is first bribed with huge amount of money just to stay calm and get off the way of government but if the activist doesn’t corporate they now frame him up with either a corruption allegation or treason and use that to silence him forever.

Meanwhile the activist might also be guilty as charged, most activists starts with the notion that they are trying to stand for truth, fairness and justice but when they get their targeted audience they now derail and use the platform they have gotten as an avenue to defraud people, so i won’t be surprised if that is the case here, i just wish proper investigations are done on the case, devoid of sentiments or political influence, so that whatever verdict he gets will be what he truly deserves, depending on whether he is innocent or guilty.

[lovesmayfamilis]

Am just curious at OP, why did the government jail him immediately and await trial rather than a normal arrest? I felt the normal sequence is arrest, trial then if the victim is found guilty he will now be jailed, the background of the story looks to me like the government are just trying to get him out of the way since he has been an activist, else why are they so forward, i have experienced similar situations in my country whereby an activist is first bribed with huge amount of money just to stay calm and get off the way of government but if the activist doesn’t corporate they now frame him up with either a corruption allegation or treason and use that to silence him forever.

Meanwhile the activist might also be guilty as charged, most activists starts with the notion that they are trying to stand for truth, fairness and justice but when they get their targeted audience they now derail and use the platform they have gotten as an avenue to defraud people, so i won’t be surprised if that is the case here, i just wish proper investigations are done on the case, devoid of sentiments or political influence, so that whatever verdict he gets will be what he truly deserves, depending on whether he is innocent or guilty.

It has been proven more than once that someone who holds a high-ranking position or has a reputation for honesty can be bribed. Any person will always have those "strings" that can be "pulled" by manipulating them. Sometimes it's a family, children, or a past that seemingly won't come back.
There were probably some mistakes that made it possible to bring the reputation of an honest person under the status of a fraudster. But the fact that the investigators started looking for charges against the activist only at a certain point (and I've already written about this before) also suggests that at some point they became uncomfortable with him. After all, public figures, and the man we're talking about is one, are never overshadowed by the government, and it's highly doubtful that his alleged gambling habits and large sums of money went unnoticed.

[Somegory]

It's surely going to take a longer time to get to the bottom of this case since both sides are throwing accusations, diligent investigation needs to be carried out to avoid punishing the wrong person.

All I can say is even the culprit will want to be innocent in this case, but I don't want to jump into conclusions, many companies are running businesses so that they can move illegal money around.

This person can be framed or can be guilty but that's on the enforcers to carry out their due diligence investigation to avoid unfair judgement.

[Zlantann]

Am just curious at OP, why did the government jail him immediately and await trial rather than a normal arrest? I felt the normal sequence is arrest, trial then if the victim is found guilty he will now be jailed, the background of the story looks to me like the government are just trying to get him out of the way since he has been an activist, else why are they so forward, i have experienced similar situations in my country whereby an activist is first bribed with huge amount of money just to stay calm and get off the way of government but if the activist doesn’t corporate they now frame him up with either a corruption allegation or treason and use that to silence him forever.

Atchariya Ruangrattanapong, chairman of the Crime Victims Assistance Club and a longtime vocal critic of alleged police corruption, was denied bail Monday, October 5, after appearing at Bangkok Criminal Court.

The court approved a police request to detain the 59-year-old for 12 days while investigators continue examining financial records and questioning witnesses.

https://www.casino.org/news/thai-anti-crime-crusader-accused-in-30m-online-gambling-probe/

The accused could be remanded in prison until they are granted bail. The court approved that he should be remanded in prison for 12days while the investigation is carried out. He has not been sentenced but just remanded in prison.

Meanwhile the activist might also be guilty as charged, most activists starts with the notion that they are trying to stand for truth, fairness and justice but when they get their targeted audience they now derail and use the platform they have gotten as an avenue to defraud people, so i won’t be surprised if that is the case here, i just wish proper investigations are done on the case, devoid of sentiments or political influence, so that whatever verdict he gets will be what he truly deserves, depending on whether he is innocent or guilty.

The Bible says that the devil was once an angel in heaven. People could change from good to worse. He could be quilty, lets wait and see the outcome of the investigation.

[M47AK16]

$1B Baht Betting Network
Police say more than 1 billion baht, or approximately US$29.6 million, flowed through an alleged online Muay Thai betting operation known as “Muay Pak Yok Variety.”

Investigators identified 212 transactions worth more than 40 million baht ($1.2 million) that they claim linked Atchariya to people associated with the betting operation.

Authorities also examined Atchariya’s personal bank account and an account belonging to the Crime Victims Assistance Club.

Police say the personal account recorded 1,196 incoming and outgoing transactions involving approximately 191 million baht ($57 million), while the club account handled more than 168 million baht ($50 million) through 5,140 transactions. Investigators claim some of the money trail connected donors to boxing gamblers and the alleged betting network.

I am not Thai, and I have absolutely no clue about the Muay Thai world at all and no idea what's going on in that sport. But I can simply say from reading that "being framed" is not really impossible. Back in the day, when people got jailed, I would just assume that they were guilty. But if you look at what the world has come down to, you will soon realise that it's not really that easy and sometimes even harder than you could imagine.

This is why I would say that the best case we could have in this situation would be waiting. And I would say that you should not automatically consider someone guilty because they are jailed. This dude is literally "anti-crime" and talked about corruption in the cops; I can't even say his name. So maybe he is a bad person or maybe not, but if you go after cops and the law, then cops and the law will come after you, won't they?

[Supreme Donvic]

It's surely going to take a longer time to get to the bottom of this case since both sides are throwing accusations, diligent investigation needs to be carried out to avoid punishing the wrong person.

All I can say is even the culprit will want to be innocent in this case, but I don't want to jump into conclusions, many companies are running businesses so that they can move illegal money around.

This person can be framed or can be guilty but that's on the enforcers to carry out their due diligence investigation to avoid unfair judgement.

Of course they are going to carry out investigation however, you should also understand that people can also frame up an investigation in order to favor the person they want or to go against the person they want, anyone that is being accused of a particular thing should also do his or her best to make sure that he proof to everyone that he or she is innocent, you don't have to depend on the law enforcement agency to only be the ones to find out the truth especially if you are not innocent, you have to make move because you don't know where your enemies are coming from or will fight you from.


~Supreme

[Nwada001]

It often happens that the accuser also hides something. If it is proven, let him pay for the crimes. Here in Brazil something similar is happening; it has no relation to gambling, but some of our ministers of the Supreme Federal Court are involved in a billion-dollar fraud scandal, and they are posing as defenders of the law, practically saints, immaculate.

It’s basically what happened all over the world, and when you look at it very well, most of the time most of the accused are guilty of the charges, and their cases only become a thing when they turn out to be a threat to a party that is trying to regain power or any form of political threat.

They will always wake up old wounds or where others don’t look, and they will use that against the person to fight him legally. I don’t know the real case behind this until the ruling is decided; for now, all we can do is speculate based on what we have also seen happening around us.

[Rabata]

In such a situation, no one can be accused without investigation. Here the police are talking about being arrested and the accused is saying something different. Since he is an anti-corruption and anti-crime activist, there may be a political case against him which will ruin his reputation. It cannot be denied that he may be involved in gambling. If someone gambles secretly, nothing can be said about it until it is revealed. If that person is found to be involved in an illegal online betting network worth $29.6 million, if this is true and if he is involved in money laundering, fraud and illegal online gambling, he will definitely be punished. Since Atchariya himself is still denying it, there will definitely be confusion about the matter.

[Sticky Bomb]

imo, an impartial and independent investigation team is required for this case.

Thai police can present their findings and evidences, The accused still has his attorneys to disprove whatever the police presents. If his attorneys can prove the police wrong, assuming the judge isn't compromised already, then he can become a free man soon and even compensated. Bear in mind that if the government themselves want him in prison, then there is nothing the judiciary can do to prevent that, they would manipulate the processes, spoil his reputation and lock him up for as long as they want him incarcerated.

[Swordsoffreedom]

The accused could be remanded in prison until they are granted bail. The court approved that he should be remanded in prison for 12days while the investigation is carried out. He has not been sentenced but just remanded in prison.

Court rejecting bail application does not equate to declaring individual guilty. In this instance court authorized 12 day detention period pending investigation and denied bail plea. police argued that if released then there was risk of individual influencing witnesses or tampering with evidence.

However my question is, what specific evidence existed to substantiate this risk?
I know that any detention order is necessary in interest of thorough investigation into financial corruption. But gravity of allegation alone should not be sufficient ground for keeping someone in custody. Due process implies that investigator have opportunity to conduct their work. Again accused person can also take legal action against their wrongful detention.

[el che]

It's always funny how fast the government can work when someone starts calling out the police! The moment a big critic gets linked to illegal sports betting, authorities suddenly become super fast and effective overnight. Whether he actually ran a betting ring or just forgot to pay off the right people, one thing is for sure, the government only cares about illegal gambling when they are not getting a piece of the money!!

[Iranus]

Claims He Is Being Framed
The activist has spent years publicly challenging law enforcement and pursuing high-profile criminal cases. His Crime Victims Assistance Club frequently campaigns on behalf of people who believe they have been failed by police or the justice system.

If police attempted to frame him for their own personal interest then the way this banking trail is being presented is certainly not truth.

I also think that bank record can be fabricated. Nothing definitive can be said without knowing whether those transaction actually took place, flow of fund and purpose behind transfer.

Any high turnover on bank statement does not prove that funds are gambling proceed or stolen donation. Conversely even if transaction is genuine, statement alone does not prove that its purpose was legitimate. In my opinion independent forensic review and examination of supporting document for each disputed transaction would be far more effective in this case. This would expose any weakness in police case while also allowing for verification of genuine evidence supporting allegation.

[Franklyn-wood]

It's interesting in countries like Thailand to see authorities so eager to throw the book at the few people courageous enough to speak against them publicly. It's certainly a bad look but probably they don't care. Authoritarian regimes aren't much about the looks rather than the fast and uninterrupted enrichment of their participants so they can remain in power longer. I don't expect this to change soon unless the people of Thailand do something themdelves.

This is  happening almost every where as leader hides under there position to manipulate and get whatever they want to achieve, when there are bad eggs among the leaders who's job is suppose to live by examples to people they are leading, they rather attack them when ever they discover that anyone is plotting or trying to speak against there evil behavior. They don't want to be corrected and leave by example to others. Instead they clear such a person of his feet.

[suzanne5223]

$1B Baht Betting Network
Police say more than 1 billion baht, or approximately US$29.6 million, flowed through an alleged online Muay Thai betting operation known as “Muay Pak Yok Variety.”

Investigators identified 212 transactions worth more than 40 million baht ($1.2 million) that they claim linked Atchariya to people associated with the betting operation.

Authorities also examined Atchariya’s personal bank account and an account belonging to the Crime Victims Assistance Club.

Police say the personal account recorded 1,196 incoming and outgoing transactions involving approximately 191 million baht ($57 million), while the club account handled more than 168 million baht ($50 million) through 5,140 transactions. Investigators claim some of the money trail connected donors to boxing gamblers and the alleged betting network.

I am not Thai, and I have absolutely no clue about the Muay Thai world at all and no idea what's going on in that sport. But I can simply say from reading that "being framed" is not really impossible. Back in the day, when people got jailed, I would just assume that they were guilty. But if you look at what the world has come down to, you will soon realise that it's not really that easy and sometimes even harder than you could imagine.

This is why I would say that the best case we could have in this situation would be waiting. And I would say that you should not automatically consider someone guilty because they are jailed. This dude is literally "anti-crime" and talked about corruption in the cops; I can't even say his name. So maybe he is a bad person or maybe not, but if you go after cops and the law, then cops and the law will come after you, won't they?

I also believe there's high probability that he's framed through the political influence who use the people that's among his team to frame him using the information they know about with the inclusion of fabricated story.
Consider what said about people getting jailed, the jury system has changed, but one thing is certain that if the accused is a powerful person, he ought to be given house arrest, not kept in custody until he defends himself and is found guilty.

[AakZaki]

I also think that bank record can be fabricated. Nothing definitive can be said without knowing whether those transaction actually took place, flow of fund and purpose behind transfer.

Any high turnover on bank statement does not prove that funds are gambling proceed or stolen donation. Conversely even if transaction is genuine, statement alone does not prove that its purpose was legitimate. In my opinion independent forensic review and examination of supporting document for each disputed transaction would be far more effective in this case. This would expose any weakness in police case while also allowing for verification of genuine evidence supporting allegation.

Who will falsify bank records? I am not convinced by this, because when Bank records are used as evidence before the judge, it is the same as fooling the judge.
Moreover it concerns the reputation of the bank, When all that is in counterfeit it is not impossible that the bank in question will get a bad reputation.

It is true that bank records alone are not enough to prove whether a transaction is related to a criminal act or not. However, we also cannot simply doubt the authenticity of the records without any indication or evidence of forgery.

In my opinion, there is a difference between questioning the authenticity of a document and questioning the purpose of the transaction recorded in it. Both are different issues that must be proven separately. Therefore, an independent examination is certainly necessary, but that does not mean that bank records submitted as evidence should be immediately considered untrustworthy.