(Jan 3): Thai authorities have begun seizing the assets of a hospital tycoon who fled the country after allegedly luring more than 12 billion baht (US$350 million or RM1.57 billion) into fake medical projects from hundreds of investors.

Boon Vanasin, the 86-year-old founder of Thonburi Healthcare Group Pcl, is wanted on charges of fraud and money laundering following the emergence of complaints about the scam from December 2023. The medical doctor had misled victims into believing they were investing in five medical projects in Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, none of which existed, according to investigators.

The charges against Boon are now being probed by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), Thailand’s equivalent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the US. Thirteen suspects have been taken into custody, including Boon’s wife and daughter, while Boon and his two associates are at large. Police said earlier that Boon had fled Thailand in September, first to Hong Kong and then China.

Boon hasn’t yet publicly responded to the allegations.

Shares of Thonburi tumbled 4% on Friday, extending a 71% plunge last year. The Bangkok-based company has said it has nothing to do with Boon’s projects, and his wife and daughter’s continuation as board members would be a matter for the shareholders to resolve.

Investigators have leads on Boon’s whereabouts and have been coordinating with Interpol for his arrest, Wisanu Chimtrakool, deputy director-general of the DSI, said at a briefing on Friday. The value of seized assets could not yet be determined, Wisanu said, adding the agency planned to file charges to prosecutors before the end of the month.

“This is a special case due to its complexities and the number of victims and economic value,” Wisanu said. “We’ve been trying to track down as many as assets as possible, from cars to land ownerships, stocks and funds.”

Boon’s spouse Charuvarn Vanasin and daughter Nalin Vanasin have both denied the allegations of fraud and money laundering, claiming that their signatures on documents related to the fake projects were forged, according to Thonburi. The two remain in court detention.

In 2022, Boon, while serving as Thonburi chairman, was fined by the Securities and Exchange Commission for misleading investors by disseminating false information about the hospital securing a deal for Pfizer vaccine. He was barred from serving as a director or executive in a public company for 42 months.

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