Investigators question MP’s husband about gambling site shares

Suchada says husband sold shares in Shuffle.com before she became an MP

Bhumjaithai Party MP Suchada Zhang Thaensap and her husband met with Department of Special Investigation (DSI) investigators on Tuesday to provide information about his shareholding in the online gambling website Shuffle.com.

The investigation was launched after suspicions emerged that Ms Suchada’s husband, Australian entrepreneur Zhang Taiyang, might be linked to a scam network and online gambling operations through his shareholding in Shuffle.com, one of the world’s biggest crypto-only betting sites.

DSI investigators met on Monday with police and representatives from the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) to exchange information and coordinate their investigations to avoid duplication.

Investigators are seeking to establish whether Mr Zhang had previously been linked to any offences in cases handled by other law enforcement agencies, including online gambling investigated by cybercrime police.

The investigative team subsequently invited the MP and her husband to provide information at the DSI headquarters at the Government Complex on Chaeng Watthana Road in Bangkok.

Before meeting the DSI, Ms Suchada told the Rueng Lao Chao Nee morning television programme that she would cooperate fully with the authorities.

She said her husband had previously held a 1.4% stake in the business but had sold his shares before she became an MP. Consequently, the shareholding was not included in the asset declaration she submitted to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) in January 2026.

She explained that her husband had held the shares through Mixed Order Ltd, a company registered in the British Virgin Islands, which owns Natural Nine BV, a company registered in the Caribbean island of Curacao. Natural Nine operates Shuffle.com.

Bhumjaithai MP Suchada Zhang Thaensap speaks to reporters after she and her husband, Zhang Taiyang, emerged from a meeting room at the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) where Mr Zhang answered questions from investigators about his investments. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)

After being questioned alone by DSI investigators for nearly three hours, Mr Zhang delivered remarks to reporters in English, with his wife interpreting.

He said he welcomed scrutiny of the matters under investigation and pledged full cooperation with the authorities, adding he would provide all the information available to him and leave the assessment of the facts to investigators.

Ms Suchada also denied reports that she had previously taken her husband to meet senior officers at the Royal Thai Police headquarters in connection with the case.

‘Misleading narrative’

She criticised what she described as attempts by a former politician to piece together documents dating back four or five years to create a misleading narrative.

The reference was to Sirichok Sopha, a former Democrat Party MP who suggested in a recent online post that Mr Zhang’s influence in Shuffle.com was greater than his small shareholding indicated.

Mr Sirichok was reportedly scheduled to provide information to the DSI on Tuesday afternoon.

Asked whether she knew Mr Sirichok, Ms Suchada replied sarcastically: “I believe everyone knows him. Whenever you open your phone, you see him. I thought he was the wallpaper.”

Asked who had purchased her husband’s shares in Shuffle.com after they were sold, she declined to answer, saying her husband was the person providing information to investigators.

The Bhumjaithai MP also responded to criticism from Rukchanok Srinork, a People’s Party MP, who had shared news reports questioning her absence from public view for three weeks and suggesting she would return with a way out of the controversy.

Ms Suchada said she had not disappeared and pointed to her husband’s appearance as evidence that he remained in the country.

DSI chief reviewing facts

Pol Col Piya Raksakul, the DSI director-general, declined to comment in detail on the investigation, saying Tuesday was his first day in the post and that he needed to review the facts.

He added that he was not yet aware of any established facts linking the couple to online gambling offences.

Critics of the Bhumjaithai-led government have expressed concern about the appointment of Pol Col Piya to head the DSI. They point to the fact that he headed an Election Commission committee that recommended no charges be brought in the Senate election collusion case.

Asked whether the DSI would ensure fairness in politically sensitive cases, Pol Col Piya said the agency would treat all parties involved fairly and act in accordance with the law.

Earlier on Tuesday, Justice Minister Rutthapon Naowarat denied any attempt at a whitewash in the case of Ms Suchada and Mr Zhang, saying investigators were still gathering evidence and had not yet decided whether the case qualified as a special investigation.