Bancha gets 5 years in B1.4bn embezzlement case

The Criminal Court has sentenced Bancha Chalapirom, former chairman of the Chulalongkorn University Savings Cooperative (CU Savings Coop), to five years in jail for embezzling more than 1.4 billion baht from the cooperative.
The court ruled on Thursday that Bancha was guilty under Sections 353 and 254 of the Criminal Code and sentenced him to five years in prison. Bancha requested bail to appeal the case, which the court granted.
As of 2023, CU Saving Coop had 15,592 members, with total assets of 35.76 billion baht.
Of the figure, 25 billion baht was the investment, 5.48 billion baht was member loans, and 3.4 billion baht was loans to other cooperatives.
CU Coop’s liabilities amounted to 17.7 billion baht, including 14.9 billion baht in deposits and 2.71 billion baht in short-term bank loans and overdrafts. CU Saving Coop had a capital of 18 billion baht.
The DSI found Bancha, as the chairman of the CU Savings Coop from 2012–2014, approved loans to Mongkol Setthee Credit Union Ltd, Khehasathan Noppakao Ruamjai Cooperative and Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative.
The DSI alleged Bancha abused his authority by dishonestly misappropriating assets belonging to others and for the benefit of third parties, which violated Section 352 of the Criminal Code. His misconduct as executor and administrator also violated Section 354, according to the DSI.
The DSI said the total damage to the CU Savings Coop exceeds 1.4 billion baht.
The DSI submitted the case to the public prosecutor on Feb 13, 2023. The prosecutor then filed a lawsuit against the defendant with the Criminal Court less than a month later, on March 3.
On May 15 this year, the court heard testimony by the last witness, a DSI officer in charge of the case.