Thai tycoon Prayudh Mahagitsiri sentenced in 400 million baht land scandal
In a recent surge against corruption, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) confirmed the sentencing of Prayudh Mahagitsiri, a well-known tycoon, to two years and eight months imprisonment with the charge linked to an infamous land encroachment scandal. The judgement was passed by the Region 8, Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases.
Niwatchai Kasemmongkol, who serves as the secretary-general of the commission, stated that the court found the millionaire and ten other former land officials in Krabi blamable for unlawfully granting title deeds for state land. The prime allegation is that around 19 rai of land in the Mueang district has been wrongly titled.
“The court established that Prayudh had a prominent role in abetting these state officials in their illegal deeds title issuance.”
Penalising the offenders involved in this land scandal, the court initially sentenced one defendant to serve a jail term of six years. Additional culprits, including Prayudh, were handed down a jail sentence of four years each, added Nitwatchai. Considering the confessions made by the defendants, the court subsequently consented to commute the sentences. Hence the primary defendant had his jail term mitigated to four years, while the remainder, including Prayudh, saw their sentences reduced to two years and eight months.
In a progressive move towards restoring order, the court also instructed the revocation of the land titles in question. More shockingly, unravelling the deeper facets of this land scandal, other sources revealed that Prayudh had resold the contentious property for an estimated 400 million baht back in 2017, reported Bangkok Post.
Nitwatchai reiterated that all the defendants convicted in this land scandal case still held the right to appeal against the court’s decision.
Expanding its probe into illegal land ownership, the NACC has swooped down upon additional cases of corruption. Niwatchai added that the “commission has initiated charges against ten politicians,” entailing members of parliament and senators. The allegations against this group include illegal landholding or assisting state officials in the unlawful issuance of title deeds.
