Thai court jails ex-senator’s son for 132 years in online gambling and money laundering case

Thailand’s Criminal Court on April 27 delivered its ruling in a case brought against Narayut Narakaew and eight others on charges of jointly organising or facilitating illegal online gambling, advertising or inviting others to gamble through electronic media without official permission, conspiring to launder money, and jointly laundering money.

One of the defendants was Narote Piriyarangsan, the son of former senator Sangsit Piriyarangsan.

Prosecutors said that between Dec 28, 2023, and May 27, 2024, the defendants and others who remained at large jointly organised online gambling in various forms through websites displaying deposit channels, allowing access by members of the public of all ages.

The court records cited by Thai media said the network divided responsibilities into groups, including website owners and managers who received the benefits, and those responsible for running the online gambling systems.

The prosecution also said the defendants conspired to launder money by registering corporate entities and telling banks they were engaged in online retail businesses in order to obtain QR code payment services for receiving gambling money.

During the period in question, multiple transfers were made through automated payment systems, ranging from 1.7 million baht (S$67,000) to 54.7 million baht.

According to the case details, the defendants also jointly held ownership of land worth more than 7.2 million baht, jewellery worth 10 million baht and three luxury cars.

Prosecutors argued that the transactions were made through transfers between the defendants’ accounts to alter the form of assets connected to the offences and to conceal or disguise their true origin, amounting to money laundering.

The court found defendants 1 to 5 and defendant 7 guilty of helping to advertise or invite others to take part in illegal gambling.

It sentenced defendant 1 and Narote – defendant 4 – to three months’ imprisonment each on that count, and fined defendants 2, 3, 5 and 7 3,000 baht each.

On the money laundering count, the court sentenced defendant 1 to a total of 15 years and 32 months, while Narote received a cumulative sentence of 132 years and six months. Under Thai law, however, his effective prison term is capped at 20 years.

The court also imposed fines on the corporate defendants and other parties.

Narote had been granted temporary release during the trial on Oct 31, 2025, after previously being denied bail, and this later led to scrutiny of the judge involved in granting his release.

On the day of the ruling, he failed to appear in court, prompting the court to read the judgment in absentia and issue an arrest warrant. THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK