Authorities arrested high-profile lawyer Sittra Biabungkerd and his wife on Thursday morning, accusing them of fraud and money laundering linked to accusations by a billionaire who claims a loss of 71 million baht to him.
The couple was arrested on the Kabin Buri-Chachoengsao Highway in Chachoengsao’s Phanom Sarakham district, east of Bangkok.
The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) officers detained Mr. Sittra and Ms. Pathitta Biabungkerd as they drove away from Bangkok in their Porsche Cayenne.
The arrests were coordinated with the issuance of warrants by the Criminal Court on the same day, following a request from the CIB.
Mr. Sittra faced charges of fraud and money laundering, while his wife was implicated in money laundering activities.
The couple was taken to the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) to face charges, where they remained silent before the press.
The Deputy Commissioner of the CIB, Pol Maj Gen Suwat Saengnoom, stated that the couple refuted all allegations and that the police would contest any bail requests.
During the seizure of their vehicle, a Porsche with the Bangkok license plate Thor Kor 999, police discovered travel bags, bedding, and a document file.
Additionally, law enforcement searched Mr. Sittra’s residence in Bangkok’s Taling Chan district later that day, seizing numerous luxury items and jewelry for further investigation.
On Tuesday, Mr. Sittra had voluntarily gone to the CSD to respond to a case in which a Thai billionaire woman accused him of defrauding her of 71 million baht through a purported online lottery scheme, which he claims was a gift from her.
The accuser, 58-year-old Jatuporn “Madame Oy” Ubonlert, a native of Nakhon Ratchasima, currently resides in France with her French husband, where she had previously won a EuroMillions jackpot of approximately 10 billion baht.
Previously, Mr. Sittra gained media attention for representing a retired police officer in a 30-million-baht government lottery ticket theft case in Kanchanaburi province and when he lodged a money laundering complaint against a former national police chief.
