SKYY9 deal faces probe

It now appears that the government has approved the establishment of an inquiry panel to look into the People’s Party’s claims that the SSO spent 7 billion baht, an excessive sum, to buy the SKYY9 Centre on Rama IX Road, an asset with an alleged appraisal value of only 3 billion baht.

The prime minister, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, said on Tuesday she had ordered her interior minister, Anutin Charnvirakul, to create the panel.

“The government has a mandate to act transparently and safeguard the nation’s interests. “We prioritize transparency,” she said.

Mr Anutin, who is also a deputy prime minister, added that he has signed an order to set up the panel, which will be chaired by the permanent secretary for interior, Unsit Sampuntharat.

He also stated that the SSO belongs to under the Labour Ministry, but as a deputy prime minister who supervise the Ministry of Labour.

Mr Anutin said Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn has also Requested that he look into the matter. The purported overspending also overlapped with the time the current permanent secretary for labour was the SSO’s secretary-general, he added.

He continued by stating that however, an investigation on the permanent secretary for labour, the investigating officer must be of the same level to investigate smoothly.

Asked if the investigation will only be on the SSO’s purchase of the SKYY9 Centre or include other expenses by the SSO, Mr Anutin said he does not set any limitation on the scope of the investigation.

He directed the panel to complete its probe as soon as possible, saying he would not intervene in the investigation in order to deliver justice to everyone involved.

This comes amid People’s Party MP and House committee spokeswoman to study and monitor state budgetary planning and expenditure Rukchanok Srinork raising concerns over spending from the SSO, such as a 2.2-million-baht study trip overseas by SSO officials, the 100-million-baht cost of running its hotline, and the printing of calendars at a cost of 450 million baht.

Also on Monday, Ms Rukchanok raised suspicion about the SSO’s purchase of the SKYY9 Centre on at Rama IX Road with the building estimate at 3 billion, but the SSO purchased it for more than double.

“Has anybody benefited from it?” she asked.

According to Sahassawat Kumkong, a People’s Party MP for Chon Buri, the current permanent secretary for labour, Boonsong Thapchaiyut, was the SSO’s secretary-general at the time of the purchase.

In rebuttal to the allegations, the SSO’s current secretary-general, Marasri Jairangsee, said yesterday that the SSO had spent money on purchasing the building through the Private Equity Trust, an investment vehicle set up under the Trust for Transactions in the Capital Market Act, which comes under the supervision of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The purchase is a good investment as it is regulated by relevant agencies in accordance with the law, Ms Marasri said. Two independent estimators certified by the SEC estimated the price, she said.

The price, according to Ms Marasri, was estimated at 7.3 billion baht based on the income approach formula but, if considering the cost approach, then the value of the building is estimated at 8 (billion baht).

But she said the SSO spent only 6.9 billion baht to purchase the building.

Suchart Chomklin, the deputy commerce minister and former labour minister, called the 3 billion baht the appraisal price for the 1997 Tom Yum Kung financial crisis.

The SSO could serve as the secretariat of the Social Security Fund, the largest fund holding public money in Thailand at 2.65 trillion baht. It guarantees them welfare and financial security for 24 million members.

SSO has defended its allocation of administrative budget, stating it is in accordance with the Social Security Act; which puts the expenditure to within the range of 10% of the annual contributions.

The SSO allocated only 3% in 2024, well below the legal ceiling, it said.