Boom goes bust: Scandal over charity run by ex-beauty queen sparks calls for reform in Thailand

BANGKOK – A scandal involving a charity run by a former beauty queen has left Thai authorities scrambling to conduct a check on charities and foundations across the country.Panadda “Boom” Wongphudee, 50, winner of Miss Thailand in 2000, was arrested on Nov 6, along with her husband Atip Anantawan, 53, on charges such as public fraud and money laundering.About 527 million baht (S$20.2 million) out of 815 million baht donated to Ongkorn Thamdee, known in English as the Do Good Foundation, was allegedly siphoned for the couple’s personal use to pay credit card bills, buy luxury goods and build a pool villa in Phuket.Observers say the case shows that Thailand’s regulations governing charitable organisations are often outdated and not enforced consistently, and greater transparency is needed.“These cases keep coming back, and each time the money is larger and the method is the same: donations go into a personal account that nobody checks,” said Boonwara Sumano, a research fellow at the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI).According to Thailand’s 1944 Fund Raising Control Act, one requirement is that fundraising can be done only after applying for a permit. Another is that the fundraiser must announce the total money and property received and paid to the public from time to time.But following investigations of the Do Good Foundation, the authorities revealed on Nov 4 that it had failed to submit income and expenditure statements, or annual balance sheets, since its registration in 2022.“This foundation ran large campaigns through social media, including for flood relief, and the system showed no record of it ever applying for a permit. The authorities only noticed after the scandal broke,” Boonwara said.She added that different government departments are responsible for checking on different requirements of an organisation, resulting in “each agency assumes another one is watching”. The latest scandal comes after the September arrest of a 66-year-old abbot accused of embezzling 100 million baht from Wat Phutthaisawan, a historic royal monastery in Ayutthaya, about 80 km north of Bangkok.Local media reported that Thailand has about 50,000 temples and more than 30,000 foundations, associations and other non-profit organisations. Strong beliefs in merit, karmaDespite the probe into the Do Good Foundation, analysts said it is unfair to paint the entire philanthropy industry with one brush. Many non-government charity foundations help complement official measures.Purawich Watanasukh, a political science lecturer at Thammasat University, said during a crisis when government response is slow or inadequate, charities help to provide immediate and urgent assistance.Donations are a huge part of the culture in Thailand, a Buddhist nation, given people’s strong beliefs in merit and good karma, he observed.“Allegations involving charitable donations can provoke a particularly strong sense of moral betrayal,” he said, especially when donors feel their generosity and beliefs have been exploited.During the flooding in several provinces in September and October, Do Good Foundation’s Panadda was seen with a life jacket wading in waist-high water delivering aid to affected residents.It was no surprise that the celebrity status of Panadda, a former television presenter, singer and actress, elicited substantial amounts of donations, but this added another dimension to the breach of trust.“Many have regarded her as a symbol of generosity and trustworthiness. Allegations that call this image into question can therefore generate a particularly profound sense of betrayal,” Purawich said. Although Panadda has made a public apology, at least 10 donors have filed complaints against her foundation, alleging the misuse of funds intended for flood victims, local media reported.“The broader lesson is that personal reputation cannot provide sufficient assurance of organisational integrity,” said Purawich. “Public trust needs clear rules, financial disclosure, independent scrutiny, and meaningful accountability,” he added.Charity sector reforms neededOn Nov 7, a spokesperson for the Thai Prime Minister said a nationwide inspection of all foundations is meant to “prevent the establishment of front foundations or the use of donations for personal gain”.“Furthermore, the operation of foundations must adhere to the principles of transparency, accountability, and alignment with their registered objectives, especially the management of donations and foundation assets,” the spokesperson added.But Dhiyathad Prateeppornnarong, lecturer at the Graduate School of Public Administration at the National Institute of Development Administration, remains sceptical that any real change will occur, based on past examples such as promises of tighter gun control which fell into a black hole.“I hope that some big change will happen but my suspicion is it may not. Because in Thailand, when the government is dealing with issues of high sensitivity like this, sometimes they like to wait and see whether or not the storm will subside,” he says.Dhiyathad believes this case will not be the last as it reflects a deeper problem in Thailand where charitable organisations are not held to the same level of scrutiny and accountability as corporations.He suggested that the authorities conduct thorough screenings of those who apply to set up charities.“The problem is that officials just check the formal documentation when anyone wants to set up a foundation. But it lacks the practical mechanism to check whether or not the person is really capable of managing it in accordance to the corporate governance principles and the benefits that the public will receive from running that foundation,” he said.Thammasat University’s Purawich said “the broader challenge is to ensure organisations receiving public donations can demonstrate how they manage and use those funds”.TDRI’s Boonwara suggested reforms such as mandating that public donations go directly into accounts under a foundation’s name, safeguarded by several authorised signatories. Or requiring banks to flag personal accounts which receive large sums of donor transfers, and having all public appeal donations be made electronically.She said:“The public’s goodwill is a social asset worth protecting, and blind trust is not a substitute for a system. We should be able to give with faith and still ask for receipts.”