Medical glove company head accused of fraud in Thailand

The head of a medical glove company in Thailand was arrested Tuesday on accusations of fraud.

Jirabhob Bhuridej, a lieutenant general for the Royal Thai Police, said that multiple foreign companies had alleged that Sufficiency Economy Co. had failed to fulfill orders for medical gloves during the pandemic after it had received millions of dollars in payment, The Associated Press reported. Bhuridej said that the CEO of Sufficiency Economy City Co., Kampee Kampeerayannon, had been arrested on charges of fraud and posting misinformation online.

Among the complainants were Florida-based trading company Rock Fintek, and companies from France and Hong Kong.

According to authorities, Rock Fintek paid a 40 percent deposit for two million boxes of medical gloves — an amount exceeding $6 million — and never received the order.

Thai officials also on Tuesday announced a verdict in a medical glove fraud case against Paddy the Room Trading Co. employee Pipatpon Homjanya, according to the AP.

Homjanya was found guilty of packing low-quality gloves into the boxes of legitimate medical glove producers and selling millions to international buyers, according to the AP. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

The arrest and conviction came after a CNN investigation discovered Thailand sent millions of used, substandard medical gloves to the U.S. during the pandemic.

Suppliers dyed the gloves to make them look brand new before sending them to the U.S., according to CNN.