Housing co-op to get the chop

B5.5bn goes missing, charges beckon

The Khehasathan Noppakao Ruamjai Cooperative (KNRC) has been ordered closed after a sum of 5.5 billion baht was found missing from its accounts, while its committee members are facing charges of embezzlement.

Phichet Wiriyapaha, deputy directorgeneral of the Cooperative Promotion Department, said yesterday the closure order was issued on May 11 by the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry’s permanent secretary who is the ex-officio registrar of cooperatives.

Mr Phichet said the closure order came after the department found the KNRC invested in a housing estate project to sell housing units to others in Maha Sarakham, which was in violation of cooperative regulations.

An investigation in 2014 also found the cooperative had failed to conduct transactions with its members, also a breach of cooperative regulations, prompting the department to order the KNRC to stop all its transactions, Mr Phichet said.

Mr Phichet told a news conference the cooperative had no money left in its accounts, but still had several land plots as its assets. Earlier, deposits of 5.51 billion baht were left with the cooperative, he said.

There were three major depositors: Nonthaburi Teachers’ Cooperative with deposits of 113 million baht, the Chulalongkorn University Savings Cooperative (915 million baht) and the Federation of Thai Finance Cooperatives (4.48 billion baht).

The Federation of Thai Finance Cooperatives had 35 cooperatives as its members, with deposits of 5.75 billion baht.

Mr Phichet also said former chairman of the Chulalongkorn University cooperative, Sawad Saengbangpla, who has been arrested over a fraudulent lottery scheme, was chairman of the federation when it deposited 4.48 billion baht with the KNRC.

The department has asked the AntiMoney Laundering Office (Amlo) to investigate and return the missing money to the depositors, Mr Phichet said.

The three cooperatives which had deposited their money with the KNRC also had been told to sue the KNRC for damages.

The registrar of the cooperatives has assigned a liquidator, appointed to manage the winding up the cooperative, to file a complaint with Min Buri police asking them to pursue legal action against committee members of the KNRC for embezzlement, Mr Phichet said.

Regarding the 4.48 billion baht deposited by the Federation of Thai Finance Cooperatives, the department found the KNRC used six of its land plots as a deposit guarantee.

A private appraisal company had estimated the land plots to be worth about 6.9 billion baht, but the department found they were worth just 1 billion baht, Mr Phichet said.

The department will also ask the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the SET-listed appraisal firm, Mr Phichet said.

He also said the registrar of cooperatives had ordered the housing estate project in Maha Sarakham scrapped and is considering selling the assets and returning the money to the cooperatives.