The suspects included retired Maj-General Athiwat Sunpan and his wife.

Assistant national police chief Suwira Songmettha recommended the Office of the Attorney-General’s Criminal Case director-general, Natthajak Patama-singh na Ayudhya to indict the suspects for charges of fraud to obtain illegal loans from the public, taking part in a transnational criminal organisation and a violation of the Computer Act 2007.

This was the fifth batch of Ufun suspects referred to the prosecutor. Some 27 of the 164 suspects have fled Thailand. Suwira said police have submitted 93 – including this latest 27 – to prosecutors.

Police received complaints from 2,451 people who said they had suffered damages, Suwira said, and police were confident victims would be compensated. The Anti-Money Laundering Office has seized assets worth Bt880 million from the case suspects and was gathering evidence to charge all 164 suspects with money-laundering offences. So far they had taken cases against 43 suspects, he said.