Former Stark chairman and much wanted man in huge fraud case finally in Thai detention after months on the run

BANGKOK (Bloomberg): The former chairman of Stark Corp, a Thai industrial cable maker at the center of an accounting scandal and debt defaults, was brought back to Thailand after months on the run, ending a chase for the country’s most wanted corporate fugitive.

The government has Chanin Yensudchai in its custody and he has been detained, said Jakkapong Sangmanee, a minister in the Prime Minister’s Office told reporters on Sunday. Chanin was arrested in Dubai, the Thansettakij paper reported on Saturday.

“It’s a long chase of more than eight months since we charged him,” Jakkapong said in a televised briefing at the Suvarnabhumi international airport. Live footage on the Nation TV showed Chanin escorted by police and special investigation officers to a car, his face partially hidden behind a medical mask.

Stark has been under criminal investigation after revelations of irregularities in past accounting, with authorities last month saying they were seeking to seize some offshore assets of the company’s former executives. Thai authorities sought Interpol’s help last year in their search for Chanin after he was suspected to have fled the country.

Chanin was among Stark’s former executives whose assets were ordered to be seized by the Thai authorities for their roles in the alleged fraud and misconduct. He allegedly falsified Stark’s financial statements to inflate earnings performance to deceive investors, authorities said.

His lawyer, Ruangsak Suksiangsri, told reporters in Bangkok on Sunday that Chanin will plead not guilty to the charges he is facing and will file a defense in court to prove his innocence.

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