Arrest warrant issued against ex-Miss Universe CEO Anne Jakrajutatip for fraud case—reports
A court in Thailand has now reportedly issued an arrest warrant against former Miss Universe CEO Anne Jakrajutatip over a fraud case involving 30 million baht (P54.7 million).
According to reports from the South China Morning Post and Thai news outlet Khaosod, the South Bangkok Criminal Court had ordered Jakrajutatip's arrest after she failed to attend her verdict hearing in connection with a fraud case.
Since she didn't provide any explanation for her absence, they concluded that she was trying to evade justice and issued the arrest warrant.
The fraud case came after Jakrajutatip and her company, JKN Global Group, were sued by Masterpiece Clinic founder Raweewat Maschamadol for allegedly deceiving him into buying corporate bonds in 2023 despite not having the capacity to pay him back.
The misrepresentation ultimately caused Maschamadol to lose the 30 million baht he had invested.
The court found sufficient evidence to proceed with the charges and scheduled the verdict hearing on Nov. 25. Following Jakrajutatip’s failure to appear, judges moved to issue an arrest warrant, revoked her bail, instructed her guarantor to settle the penalty within 15 days, and set a new date for the verdict on Dec. 26.
While Jakrajutatip has yet to issue a statement on this, SCMP reported that she had apparently fled to Mexico to avoid her legal problems.
Jakrajutatip has been embroiled in financial trouble since 2023.
At the time, the Bangkok Post detailed that the company accumulated a debt of 443 million baht (P713 million) for its JKN239A loans.
Jakrajutatip later clarified that they simply carried out a payment date adjustment after the company requested a postponement of the repayment schedule.
However, that same year, she filed for bankruptcy amid a "liquidity problem" and missed a deadline to repay bonds worth around $12 million.
A Securities and Exchange Commission complaint was filed implicating Jakrajutatip, her company JKN, and its director, alleging that they "failed to properly and accurately maintain the company's financial records."
Jakrajutatip later resigned from both her positions at JKN as well as the Miss Universe Organization. The pageant has since appointed Mario Búcaro as the new CEO.
