A scandal reveals an animal shelter kickback scheme embezzling donations with a harsh 75% cut. Watchdog exposes breaking points, overhauls the organization, and submits evidence to police after case delays.
The issue has shaken the animal welfare community as Watchdog Thailand Foundation openly confronts internal corruption, exposing former executives and treasurers who used the foundation's credibility to solicit donations for shelters while imposing a 75% kickback scheme. The foundation is now restructuring, dismissing offenders, and submitting financial evidence to the Crime Investigation Bureau (CIB) to expedite legal action.
Following public calls for investigation, Thairath Online's special team spoke with current foundation chairwoman Ms. Purita Wathansak, who explained the corruption involved the former chair and treasurer controlling the foundation’s social media channels. They exploited Watchdog’s decade-long reputation to solicit donations directly to shelters’ accounts.
Behind the scenes, they secretly agreed with shelters that donations must be 'transferred back' to their group as kickbacks or fees, disguised as advertising and other fabricated expenses.
A detailed financial investigation by Watchdog Thailand Foundation revealed the following deduction ratios:
Animal shelters actually received only about 25% of the donation amounts.
A staggering 75% was siphoned off as kickbacks.
Damages were significant, with transfer evidence showing amounts of 100,000 to 300,000 baht per transaction. Losses across three investigated shelters are estimated to exceed one million baht.
Shelters agreed to these terms because they relied on the foundation’s credibility for fundraising and feared legal repercussions, so some refrained from speaking out. Nevertheless, the foundation collected key evidence from major shelters to hand over to authorities.
Upon learning of the issue, Watchdog Thailand Foundation took immediate action:
They restructured the organization, dismissed the former chair and treasurer, and thoroughly removed all involved parties.
They filed complaints with the Crime Investigation Bureau (CIB) on 28 August for embezzlement and public fraud.
The foundation plans to follow up with CIB and hold a press conference on 11 Nov 2026, given the case has seen little progress after several months.
“We have worked with integrity for over 10 years, from combating dog meat trade to pushing the 2014 Animal Cruelty Prevention Act. Upon discovering internal irregularities, we acted immediately to prevent further damage and brought the matter to justice. Both the foundation and shelters are victims. We ask the public to consider our sincere intentions and await the judicial outcome,” said the foundation chair.