The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has identified three Thais suspected of acting as nominees holding shares in China Railway No.10 Thailand Co, which was awarded the contract to construct the State Audit Office's (SAO) 2.1-billion-baht building that collapsed in Bangkok during the earthquake on March 28.
DSI director-general Pol Maj Yutthana Praedam said on Friday that the three suspects are identified as Prachuab Sirikhate, Sophon Meechai and Manas Srianan.
He said that DSI investigators raided Mr Prachuab's house in Roi Et's Phon Sai district, but he was not there.
He said they only found his wife, who told them that Mr Prachuab works as a hired hand doing construction work and earns only about 10,000 a month.
"This is despite information that he holds shares in several entities. This should provide enough grounds to allegations about nominee shareholdings," Pol Maj Yutthana said, adding that investigators are tracking down the other two suspects.
Kanokraiwin Burinnan, an auditor, said that an initial inspection found that the three Thais were the company's founders and shareholders.
She said that Mr Manas once held 360,000 shares in the company and later transferred almost all of the shares to Mr Sophon.
Mr Manas now holds only 0.0003% of the firm's shares.
The DSI is investigating the share transfer between the two men, she said.
Ms Kanokraiwan also said that it was found that the three Thais have never worked as construction contractors before, but they still hold shares in the company.
According to sources at the DSI, Mr Sophon holds 40.79% of shares in China Railway No.10 (Thailand), while Mr Prachuab holds 10.2%.
Pol Capt Surawut Rangsai, the DSI's deputy director-general, said that China Railway No.10 (Thailand) was awarded contracts for construction projects in the government sector worth 22 billion baht from 2019 to 2024.
The DSI will launch an investigation into these projects, which will take no more than two months, he said.
Pol Maj Yutthana also said that DSI investigators are in the process of locating the head office of China Railway No.10 (Thailand).
He said initial witnesses are expected to be summoned for questioning next week.
He also added that the DSI is investigating the company for alleged price collusion and the allegation that nominees were used to hold the company's shares, which has now been accepted by the DSI as a special case.
ITD-CREC, a joint venture between SET-listed Italian-Thai Development Plc and China Railway No.10 Thailand Co, was awarded the contract to construct the now destroyed building for the SAO.
Justice Minister Tawee Sodsong previously said the issue of nominee shareholders and businesses should be investigated nationwide.
He said the DSI will examine the company's joint ventures and overall business operations to ensure complete transparency.
