iCon saga picks up steam

Two-hundred and forty more people filed complaints against The iCon Group Co, the company at the centre of a fraud scandal which has caused over 250 million baht in alleged losses, bringing the total number of complainants to 740.
As the number of complaints lodged with the Consumer Protection Police Division continues to climb, more allegations against the company have emerged, with victims in other countries — including Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Japan — claiming to have been defrauded by the company.
In Japan, a story about a group of people who incurred heavy losses after investing in products from The iCon Group recently made the rounds among netizens on Facebook. Similarly, investors in Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar who believed they have been scammed by The iCon Group have taken to social media to air their frustrations.
As many victims are unable to travel to give evidence in-person at CPPD’s headquarters in Bangkok, they could file a formal complaint at their local police station, submit their report online, or call the Royal Thai Police hotline at 1599. 
The investigation into the case is likely to be taken over by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), as the alleged fraud caused over 100 million baht in losses and involved over 300 victims, which qualifies it as a subject of a special probe, said Pol Maj Gen Sophon Sarapat, deputy chief of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB). The CPPD is a police department under the CIB.
After Warathaphon “Paul” Waratyaworrakul, CEO and founder of The iCon Group, voluntarily turned himself in on Saturday, five other key figures from the company, mostly celebrities, decided to follow suit.
They have all been released without charge after questioning, but they are now considered suspects in the police’s investigation into the case, police said.
These suspects will be charged once the police have finished compiling evidence to support the allegations against them, said Pol Maj Gen Montree Teskun, chief of Crime Suppression Division (CSD).
Of the six key figures who have turned themselves in, Kan Kantathavorn, a well-known TV host and actor who was named as the marketing director of The iCon Group, was last to report to the CPPD. After reporting to CPPD’s headquarters on Sunday, he maintained his innocence. He also says he has torn up his contract as a presenter with the company.
Eight other people, who work as direct sales team leaders at The iCon Group, have also reported to the CPPD.
Mr Warathaphon on Sunday posted a message on Facebook, which was apparently aimed to assure his business partners and investors of his innocence and the legitimacy of his business, saying police had not pressed any charges against him or any other people who had turned themselves in.
In the message, he also mentioned that when the court “throws out” the lawsuit against him and his company, the plaintiffs could face a counter suit, before adding his attempts to help the plaintiffs will lessen the severity of any charges that may filed against him.
National police chief Pol Gen Kitrat Phanphet, meanwhile, urged police handling plaintiffs’ complaints to consider themselves as lawyers who are helping the victims to find justice in the case.
“They have lost their money [to the alleged scam] and they have to deal with filing a complaint with the police on their own because they don’t have a lawyer to help them out [as the accused parties do],” said Pol Gen Kitrat.
In another development, Surachoke Tangwiwat, secretary-general of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), said one out of the 14 cosmetics and food supplement products advertised on The iCon Group’s website has never been certified by the FDA.