The Justice Minister explained suspicions involving Phawut’s gold trading, revealing that the DSI found money flows inconsistent with normal transactions because the funds were transferred from a company in which he formerly held shares. Whether donations warrant party dissolution is the Election Commission’s responsibility.
At 11:05 a.m. on 26 June 2026 at Government House, Police Lieutenant General Ruthapol Naowarat, Justice Minister, commented on a parliamentary question from 25 June about a 28-million-baht transfer to Phawut Pongwitthayaphanu, a Prachachon Party-list MP. The funds were not from the company Phawut claimed was involved in gold trading. He said the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) is currently investigating. Gold trading normally involves brokers and payment companies transferring funds, such as QRS Global as the broker, and Pay Solution Co., Ltd. as the payment gateway.
Preliminary checks show Phawut received 28 million baht from Spark Digital Co., Ltd., divided into 14 transfers of 2 million baht each. This raises suspicion because gold trading payments typically come directly from the related company. It was also found that Phawut previously held shares in Spark Digital.
When asked if Spark Digital’s role was to hold funds before financial transactions changed, Police Lieutenant General Ruthapol said the DSI needs to investigate further because many companies are involved. The DSI’s chart shows some companies unrelated to payment providers, which received money from trading. Some companies are registered as payment firms even though the registering authorities did not permit them to operate such businesses.
Asked whether, if investigations find wrongdoing and funds were transferred to the Prachachon Party, the party could be dissolved, Police Lieutenant General Ruthapol said that decision lies with the Election Commission.
When asked if Phawut requested to meet DSI investigators before the scheduled date of 2 July, Police Lieutenant General Ruthapol said he had no information on this matter.
Separately, Thepsu Bawornchotikidara, Secretary-General of the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), said AMLO is assisting in investigating the financial flows in the Forex case. When asked if any money trails linked to politicians were found, he said coordination is ongoing.