The Supreme Court has ruled to revoke Ekrach Changlao's voting rights for 10 years in the case of embezzling 396 million baht from the Khon Kaen Teachers’ Savings Cooperative. He transferred the funds into his own account to purchase land and forged ownership documents as well as altered bank passbooks.
On 27 May 2026, reporters reported that on 26 May the Supreme Court issued a verdict in case number KomJor 1/2568, red number 2/2569, between the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) as petitioner and Mr. Ekrach Changlao as respondent.
The petitioner alleged that the respondent, a member of the House of Representatives, had seriously violated or failed to comply with ethical standards. The respondent and associates, exploiting his position as manager of the Khon Kaen Teachers’ Savings Cooperative Limited, jointly embezzled cooperative funds and concealed their actions by forging the cooperative’s fixed deposit passbooks to present to the annual general meeting, misleading members to believe the cooperative had the balances shown in the forged passbooks. This constituted both criminal and serious ethical violations.
After examining the evidence, the Supreme Court summarized that the respondent, who held and had previously held the position of Member of the House of Representatives for the Palang Pracharath Party elected on 24 March 2019, later transferring to the Bhumjaithai Party and then the Kla Party, had maintained his position up to the date of the petition.
Between approximately 2011 and 2019, the respondent and associates exploited his role as manager of the Khon Kaen Teachers’ Savings Cooperative Limited. On 16 August 2011, they withdrew 396 million baht from the cooperative and transferred it into the respondent’s personal account. Then, on 14 October 2011, the respondent and associates used the cooperative’s funds to purchase five land plots, totaling 6 rai 2 ngan 34.9 square wah (approximately 10,000 square meters), at a price of 106 million baht from Sukhumvit Asset Management Company Limited. The respondent registered the land titles in his own name and used three of the plots as collateral to secure debts of Khwanrudi Partnership Limited, a debtor of the cooperative, in an unlawful and fraudulent manner. There remained a balance of approximately 290 million baht from the purchase. These actions constituted embezzlement, causing damage to the cooperative and its members, and it was credible that the respondent and associates directly benefited financially.
From 2011 to 2019, the respondent and associates altered the cooperative’s bank passbooks to present to members at the annual general meetings, making members believe the cooperative’s balance was about 400 million baht from 2014 to 2019, whereas in reality it was approximately 70,000 baht. This constituted forgery and repeated use of forged documents, with the last alteration showing a balance of 431,941,984.59 baht as of 4 August 2019, when the actual balance was 79,774.16 baht. The respondent later returned the passbooks to the cooperative in October 2019 after the ethical standards of Constitutional Court judges and officials in independent organizations, as well as the Auditor General and administrative heads of the Constitutional Court and independent agencies, came into effect in 2018.
The facts established in the investigation show that the respondent and associates committed criminal offenses of embezzlement, forgery of ownership documents, and use of forged documents. The respondent failed to uphold the rule of law and did not conduct himself according to the moral standards expected of the public, causing damage to the reputation of a Member of Parliament. Given the intent and severity of the criminal offenses, this constituted a serious violation or failure to comply with ethical standards as specified in clauses 3, 12, 17, and paragraph two of clause 27 of the ethical standards.
The court ruled that the respondent seriously violated ethical standards under Section 235, paragraphs one (1), three, and four of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, together with Sections 81 and 87 of the Organic Act on Anti-Corruption B.E. 2561 (2018), and the ethical standards of Constitutional Court judges and officials of independent organizations, including the Auditor General and administrative heads of the Constitutional Court and independent agencies, clauses 3, 12, 17, and paragraph two of clause 27. Consequently, the respondent is removed from the position of Member of Parliament for Khon Kaen Province effective from 8 July 2025, the date the Supreme Court ordered his suspension. His rights to run for election are permanently revoked, and he is barred from holding any political position under Section 235, paragraph four of the Constitution. Additionally, his voting rights are revoked for 10 years from the date of the Supreme Court’s verdict.