Thailand: Activist Says He Didn’t Bet Donations on Boxing as Police Probe Betting Network
- Updated Oct.
- Thai activist Atchariya Ruangrattanapong denies every charge against him in a police investigation into online Muay Thai betting, and says the transactions police are examining have legitimate explan…
- On October 5, 2026, while being taken to court, he denied using donations for boxing bets and said he could explain the transactions in his personal account.
Updated Oct. 12, 2026: adds two further charges police notified him of in prison on Oct. 9, which he denied. An Oct. 9 update added the Criminal Court’s reported bail revocation in a separate extortion case and a prison statement on his health.
Thai activist Atchariya Ruangrattanapong denies every charge against him in a police investigation into online Muay Thai betting, and says the transactions police are examining have legitimate explanations.
On October 5, 2026, while being taken to court, he denied using donations for boxing bets and said he could explain the transactions in his personal account. Bangkok’s Criminal Court later refused him bail that day. The 59-year-old chairs the Crime Victims Assistance Club, which he founded in 2009, according to Asia Gaming Brief.
How the case began
Cybercrime police arrested Atchariya on Saturday, October 3, near the Om Noi boxing stadium in Samut Sakhon province, under a Criminal Court warrant issued the day before, Asia Gaming Brief reported. He faces charges of public fraud, money laundering, illegal electronic betting on boxing and offenses under the Computer Crime Act.
Police say the case grew out of a March raid on an online Muay Thai betting operation, and that tracing its money led them to Atchariya and his club’s accounts.
Police allege that money donated to the club was moved into his personal account and used to bet on boxing, the Thai newspaper Daily News reported.
Bail refused
On October 5, the court approved an initial 12-day remand, or pretrial custody, covering October 5 to 16. Investigators said they still needed to question witnesses and review financial records.
Police opposed bail, arguing that he could interfere with evidence. In refusing it, the court cited the seriousness of the allegations and said there was reason to believe he might flee or interfere with evidence if released, Daily News reported.
What the numbers mean
The figures in this case measure different things. Police stressed that the account totals are overall movements rather than established gambling proceeds. Asia Gaming Brief reported on October 5 that no court had ruled those sums were criminal proceeds. Police said they are concentrating on the 212 flagged transactions.
| Figure | What police say it covers |
|---|---|
| More than 1 billion baht (about $29.6 million, per Asia Gaming Brief) | Alleged turnover of the wider betting network |
| 212 transactions worth more than 40 million baht | Transactions police say link Atchariya to accounts found in the gambling probe |
| 1,196 transactions worth more than 191 million baht | Reported movements through his personal account |
| 5,140 transactions worth more than 168 million baht | Reported movements through the club’s account |
Source: Asia Gaming Brief, October 5, 2026, reporting police findings.
His side of the story
Asked by reporters whether donations had gone into boxing bets, he replied, “Not true,” Daily News reported. He also said the club’s account had been closed since 2022 and that he might be the target of a setup.
He has also said the club’s account was separate from his personal finances, Asia Gaming Brief reported. A deputy police spokesman rejected suggestions of harassment, saying the case flowed from the March raids and the financial evidence found since. The allegations remain contested, and the remand and bail decisions do not establish guilt.
Bail revoked in a separate extortion case
Atchariya has also lost bail in one of two extortion cases he was facing before the betting arrest. Those cases are separate from the gambling investigation. On Oct. 5, investigators from the Crime Suppression Division asked the Criminal Court to revoke his bail in both, and the court heard witnesses on Oct. 7.
The court revoked his release in one case and will decide on the other on Nov. 25, Daily News reported on Oct. 8. The reports did not say which case lost bail, and no reasons from the court have been published. He is now refused bail in two cases at the Criminal Court.
Police argued that he had threatened a witness. According to Daily News, a police officer who is a witness said Atchariya phoned him in May and told him to watch himself because he would get even.
The first case dates from April, when he was arrested over an alleged 2.5 million baht extortion of an immigration police officer. In the second, from June, an amulet dealer in Chonburi province says he paid Atchariya 1.3 million baht in total, TopNews reported. Both cases are at the trial stage.
Inside Bangkok Special Prison
Thailand’s Corrections Department said on Oct. 7 that it had found no sign he had been assaulted or harassed by other inmates, Thairath reported. The department said he has an underlying medical condition and is under stress, but is eating normally.
He shares a cell for vulnerable prisoners with three other inmates and was due to stay in quarantine for new arrivals until Oct. 11, the department said on Oct. 7.
Two new charges notified in prison
On Oct. 9, investigators from Bangkok’s Nang Loeng police station went to Bangkok Special Prison and notified Atchariya of two further charges: filing a false complaint and using a forged document, Daily News and Thai Post reported. He denied the charges, according to Daily News.
The charges stem from a complaint he filed at Nang Loeng police station on Aug. 11 against a former Region 2 police investigation commander, a police major general, Daily News reported. Police say the power of attorney he used to file that complaint was forged. These are police allegations, and he has denied them.
Police said they would hold him for this case as well and expect him to face charges or arrest warrants in several other cases, Daily News reported. Defamation, which had been reported as a possible charge, was not among the charges reported on Oct. 9.
In the betting case itself, the first 12-day remand ends on Oct. 16. Police have announced no new suspects or figures since the arrest, and no trial date has been reported in any of his cases.
Featured image: Rajadamnern Stadium in Bangkok in November 2022. Illustrative image; not connected to the case. Photo: DiverDave / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)