The Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) has completed its probe into money trails of companies involved in the futsal pitch construction scandal and has uncovered financial transactions worth more than 996 million baht.
The value is calculated from 265 transactions made by the firms that were recently examined by Amlo investigators, secretary-general Seehanart Prayoonrat said yesterday.
The office can now identify money route connections in futsal pitch construction at schools and we know who the money was transferred to, Pol Col Seehanart said.
He said most of their bank account owners are "nominees".
He refused to elaborate on the findings, including names of suspects, as his office has to wait for the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to formally implicate them in alleged wrongdoing.
The futsal projects have been plagued with claims of price collusion, unusually high costs and poor construction materials.
Once the NACC implicates a wrongdoer, they will be summoned to clarify their money transactions before investigators from Amlo, which is one of the state agencies jointly looking into the issue, Pol Col Seehanart said.
Some teachers, education staff and former members of parliament are believed to have played dishonest roles in the futsal pitch construction project, worth 689 million baht.
The money was distributed by the Office of Basic Education Commission to 358 schools in 17 provinces to build futsal pitches in 2012, during the Yingluck Shinawatra administration.
More than 100 schools are suspected of being involved in the scandal, with schools in Nakhon Ratchasima gaining much attention due to their largest share of the budget.
The Public Anti-Corruption Commission and Obec are investigating the roles of teachers and education staff. The Office of the Auditor-General is looking into budget spending by the schools.