More than four years and three attorney generals later, real estate billionaire Anant Asavabhokhin has finally been indicted for alleged money laundering in connection with the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative embezzlement scandal.
Attorney-General Amnat Jedcharoenruk, who assumed office last October, approved the prosecution of Anant – one of Thailand’s richest individuals – on February 16. The indictment procedure is expected to kick off on April 2, when the tycoon is due to report to public prosecutors.
The indictment decision follows a legal tug-of-war between the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) and the Department of Special Investigation (DSI). The battle began in 2019 when then-attorney general Wongsakul Kittipromwong rejected a DSI investigation report on the case that recommended Anant be prosecuted for money laundering.
The DSI protested against the decision, pointing to convincing evidence against Anant. Yet the OAG under Wongsakul and also his two successors, Singchai Taninsorn and Naree Tantasathien, declined to indict the property tycoon.
Linked to convicted embezzler
The case dates back to 2012, when Supachai Srisupa-aksorn, then-chairman of Klongchan Credit Union, was accused of misappropriating hundreds of millions of baht from the cooperative to take over a real-estate company that owned a large tract of land in Pathum Thani.
Part of the land was sold to property giant Land and Houses Plc, for which Anant was serving as chairman at the time.
In 2017, the DSI found that Anant was linked to a 46-rai (7.4-hectare) land purchase by Supachai, who by that time was serving a 16-year prison term for embezzlement.
A separate investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) uncovered a web of transactions linking Anant to Phra Dhammachayo, the fugitive former abbot of Wat Phra Dhammakaya wanted for money laundering and encroachment on public land.
The suspicious transactions included a 300-million-baht donation to a foundation connected with the controversial temple
The donation was allegedly part of nearly 500 million baht earned from the resale of the land, which was originally bought for 93.8 million baht. Anant is a devout Dhammakaya follower.
Supachai was also accused of swindling huge sums of money from the cooperative for donations to the temple.
A dollar billionaire
Anant, 73, formerly chaired the property giant Land and Houses Plc, which he had founded with his mother, Piangjai Harnpanij, in 1983. The company later entered the financial sector under the name of LH Bank.
His current net worth is estimated at $1.1 billion (39.3 billion baht), making him Thailand’s 24th richest person, according to Forbes.
In 2017, after the embezzlement scandal erupted, Anant resigned as chair of four key companies in the group, including Land and Houses and LH Bank.
However, he remains the company’s largest shareholder, with a 23.9% stake valued at 21.5 billion baht as of the end of February.
Born on August 11, 1950, Anant earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Chulalongkorn University, a master’s in industrial engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology in the US, and another master’s in business administration from Thammasat University.
He started his career as president and chief executive of Land and Houses in 1985, before serving as chair and director of other companies under the group, including Home Products Center and Quality Houses.
Inspired by his mother
Anant’s passion for property was inspired by his mother Piangjai, one of Thailand’s most renowned landowners in her heyday. She died early last month at the age of 100.
In 1973, Piangjai and her second son Anant launched a property development project with about 100 houses in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district following his return from the US with his first master’s degree.
Their next housing project, Pracha Chuen, included more than 1,000 units. After taking over the management of Land and Houses Co Ltd from his mother, Anant managed to get the company listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand in 1989.
The property tycoon is known for his sound advice to prospective homebuyers, including “don’t buy a house until you’ve seen it built”.
This advice came after the 1997 financial crisis, when many cash-strapped property developers failed to complete their housing projects, leaving homebuyers with unfinished houses.
According to industry observers, the advice also reflected his company’s policy of selling completed houses, which was considered revolutionary in Thailand’s real-estate sector at a time when most developers sold property as it was being built.
Anant’s policy was credited with helping Land and Houses prosper during turbulent times, as the company could cut costs by half in cases where homebuyers failed to make instalments.
