Court acquits Boss Paul, two others in 2.5m-baht money-laundering case

Case follows DSI inquiry into alleged money transfers, receipts and loans linked to direct-sales company

The Criminal Court acquitted The iCon Group founder and CEO Warathaphon “Boss Paul” Waratyaworrakul, politician Samart Janechaijittawanich and his mother, Wilawan Phutthasamrit, of charges of colluding to launder 2.5 million baht from the direct-sales company.

The court delivered its verdict on Friday in a case brought by prosecutors from Special Litigation Division 1 against four defendants: Samart, a former chairman of the Federation Against Pyramid Schemes of Thailand and former deputy spokesman for the Palang Pracharath Party; Mrs Wilawan; Mr Warathaphon; and The iCon Group Co.

The defendants were charged with jointly laundering money and conspiring to launder 2.5 million baht belonging to The iCon Group.

Samart and Mrs Wilawan were granted bail after their arrests in November 2024. Mr Warathaphon was arrested in October 2024 and detained at Bangkok Remand Prison.

The former deputy PPRP spokesman and his mother arrived at court on Friday morning, while Mr Warathaphon was escorted from prison by Department of Corrections officials to attend the verdict hearing.

The Criminal Court ruled that prosecutors had failed to provide sufficient evidence to prove that the money came from criminal activity or that the defendants knew it was the proceeds of crime.

The court found that the prosecution had established financial links between the first three defendants and Mr Samart’s partner. However, all the transfers had been made through the defendants’ own bank accounts, and there was no evidence that the money had been concealed or that the defendants had helped anyone conceal its source.

Samart Janechaijittawanich, former deputy spokesman for the Palang Pracharath Party (PPRP), speaks to reporters on Friday after the Criminal Court acquitted him, his mother and The iCon Group CEO Warathaphon “Boss Paul” Waratyaworrakul of charges of colluding to launder 2.5 million baht from the direct-sales company. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)

In 2025, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) filed additional charges of conspiring to launder money against Mr Warathaphon, Samart and Mrs Wilawan.

Samart became embroiled in the scandal following the release of an audio clip of a conversation between Mr Warathaphon and a non-MP member of a House committee who allegedly offered to help resolve a complaint in exchange for money.

The new allegations arose after a special investigative team found evidence of money transfers and receipts linked to alleged fraud and loans. The assets, which were linked to the direct-sales group’s alleged crimes, revealed a trail of financial transactions between Mr Warathaphon and Samart through accounts belonging to Mrs Wilawan and another individual.

Suphatporn Toraksa, a lawyer for Mr Warathaphon, welcomed the ruling, saying the court had found no evidence that the defendants had committed the alleged offences.

She said the main case involving The iCon Group remained under trial, with the examination of witnesses expected to conclude by the end of 2027.

Samart thanked the judges for delivering justice in the 2.5-million-baht money-laundering case involving The iCon Group.

He denied that an audio clip allegedly featuring a politician identified as “Sor Sua” was his voice. He said he had remained silent since the clip was leaked and he was accused of being the politician known as “Sor Sua”, as well as of extortion and money laundering.

Samart said the court ruling showed there was no basis for those allegations. He also questioned why his reputation had been damaged for almost two years.

He questioned the evidence used by the DSI to seek his arrest warrant, saying investigators had cited the audio clip and financial transactions. However, he said evidence concerning the financial transactions had been obtained only after the warrant was issued.

Samart said he would examine whether DSI officials had acted lawfully and would take legal action if he found evidence of discriminatory treatment.

He said he was arrested on Nov 26, 2024, and remained in custody for almost two years before being granted bail in April 2026.

Mr Warathaphon remained in custody as he faced the main case involving The iCon Group and had not applied for bail.