A court in Thailand has issued an arrest warrant for Jakkaphong ‘Anne’ Jakrajutatip, co-owner of Miss Universe, in connection with an alleged fraud case worth close to €1 million.
The order was issued for failure to appear in a criminal case, the Bangkok South Kwaeng court, in charge of the process, confirmed to EFE on Tuesday, without adding further details.
According to the Thai media The Nation, the businesswoman is facing prosecution for alleged joint fraud amounting to nearly US$1 million, and was scheduled to hear the sentencing in the case today, but did not attend court.
‘Anne’, as she is known in the business world, is the main shareholder of conglomerate JKN Global Group, which acquired Miss Universe in October 2022 for $20 million (€18.6 million) from New York-based IMG Worldwide LLC.
The 46-year-old Thai media mogul, considered by Forbes to be one of the world’s richest transgender women, resigned as a director of JKN in June after the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand confirmed investigations against her and her sister, Pimuma Jakrajutatip.
Miss Universe embroiled in a major scandal
The company then explained in a statement that ‘Anne’ had been accused of “committing or permitting the inclusion of false statements” on the conglomerate’s 2023 financial statements.
It is also accused of failing to keep “complete, accurate and truthful” accounting records for the first quarter of 2024, when JKN sold 50% of Miss Universe shares to Mexican Raul Rocha, current president of the popular beauty pageant, whose final was held last Friday in Thailand.
The case for which ‘Anne’ is wanted in Thailand is not linked to the controversy over an alleged fraud in the election of Mexico’s representative, Fatima Bosch, as the winner of this year’s edition.
Although Jakkaphong stepped down in June as JKN director, she maintained a close and public relationship with Miss Universe until the end of October, but in November she was no longer seen in public, which has fueled versions in Thai media about her departure from the Asian country.
JKN’s website has finally deleted ‘Anne’s’ profile from its website, 12 years after the Thai founded the conglomerate over which she still held 26.39% of the shares, according to data from the third quarter of the year.
On November 9, 2023, JKN Global Group asked Thailand’s Central Bankruptcy Court to enter into a debt restructuring process due to liquidity problems, reported Agencia EFE.
Find out more at ‘QueOnnda.com’.