Picture courtesy of Naewna

Special prosecutors have filed criminal charges against five defendants, including the wife of a former Constitutional Court judge, over the alleged forgery of land sale documents and the theft of company funds totalling more than 372 million baht. The case has been accepted for trial by the Criminal Court, with all defendants released on bail of 500,000 baht each.

The charges were filed on 15 January by prosecutors from the Special Litigation Division 1. The defendants include Mr Khanapoj Nijsiripat, 72, a former chief executive officer of a waste-to-energy power plant company, and Mrs Jitraporn Techacharn, 73, a former director of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion and wife of Mr Sak Techacharn, a former Constitutional Court judge.

According to the indictment, the defendants allegedly committed multiple offences including joint theft by deception in the ordinary course of business, forging and using forged documents, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. The alleged offences relate to land purchase transactions involving Eastern Energy Plus Co Ltd and Samut Prakan Renewable Energy Co Ltd, which are named as injured parties.

Prosecutors state that at the time of the alleged offences, the first and second defendants were authorised directors of the two companies. Other defendants included staff responsible for finance, accounting and legal affairs, who allegedly acted together in a coordinated plan.

The prosecution alleges that the group forged multiple land sale agreements, either for transactions that never occurred or by inflating land prices above the actual agreed amounts. These forged contracts were allegedly presented to company boards to obtain approval for issuing company cheques to pay falsely stated land prices.

After cheques were issued, prosecutors say the defendants converted them into multiple cashier’s cheques. One cheque matched the real land price, while the remaining funds were allegedly withdrawn and misappropriated, causing significant financial losses to the companies.

One example cited involves a land sale contract between Eastern Energy Plus Co Ltd and Panyanakorn Co Ltd, in which the land price was allegedly altered from approximately 196 million baht to more than 261 million baht. Prosecutors allege similar acts were repeated in multiple transactions, forming predicate offences under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

The indictment further alleges that the defendants conspired to launder the proceeds by opening multiple bank accounts, including at Bangkok Bank, transferring funds in stages, and withdrawing cash. The total amount allegedly misappropriated exceeds 372 million baht.

Naewna reported that The Criminal Court accepted the case for trial under black case number Aor.101/2569. All five defendants have denied the charges throughout the investigation, and further suspects remain under investigation by the Department of Special Investigation, with this case filed first due to the risk of some charges nearing the statute of limitations.

Key Takeaways

• Prosecutors allege forged land contracts and theft of more than 372 million baht from energy firms.

• Five defendants, including the wife of a former Constitutional Court judge, deny all charges.

• The Criminal Court has accepted the case and granted bail of 500,000 baht per defendant.

  

Adapted by ASEAN Now from Naewna 2026-01-25

 

 

Anyone any idea what a "black" case is?

How many more? And does this affect the ruling of the CC, such as banning Future Forward and Move Forward and banning its leaders from politics for ten years?

16 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

wife of Mr Sak Techacharn, a former Constitutional Court judge.

Woh Woh Woh - Wait a moment. The law doesn't apply to her. Clearly, they don't understand who she is & who her husband is!

Misunderstanding. :)