Charity Scandal: 876 Million Baht Missing from Donations
Celebrity Bum Panadda's 'Ongkan Thamdee' foundation faces scrutiny after its financial statement showed 910 million baht in donations but only 10-15 million baht reaching victims, with 876 million baht unaccounted for. Activist Ek Luangprasert questioned the foundation's executive director Ung Hiranik about the missing funds and his fiduciary responsibilities, while also raising doubts about meeting procedures and legal representation. The case has drawn national attention amid calls for transparency and potential legal action.
Ek Luangprasert, founder of the 'Sai Mai Tong Rod' page, gave a media interview on November 6, 2026 after the 'Hone Kra Si' program discussed the financial statement of the 'Ongkan Thamdee' foundation of Bum Panadda. He said he saw the foundation's statement for the first time today, showing 910 million baht deposited in 2022-2024 and 876 million baht withdrawn. Ung Hiranik, the foundation's executive director, explained on the program that internal foundation expenses were 40-50 million baht.
Ek continued that Ung's role as executive director is to disburse funds for foundation expenses and field costs for flood relief and border missions. However, Ung stated that Bum only gave him 10-15 million baht to spend, which actually reached victims. Compared to the 910 million baht in donations, the proportion is extremely distant.
Regarding the 876 million baht withdrawn, Ek personally doesn't think it was used to build the Klong 8 foundation because there is a separate 'Klong 8 Foundation Construction Fund' account with about 40-50 million baht. The 876 million baht is money transferred to help disaster victims, which is a separate portion. However, this money issue must wait for Bum to explain what the 876 million was used for and where. Ek is only pointing out the numbers as they appear.
Ek's demand for Ung today is that as executive director, Ung has direct fiduciary responsibility trusted by the foundation board. But Ung did not perform that duty; instead he only held a small amount of money and did not oversee the large sum, causing the large sum to leak elsewhere and cause damage. This is a key point Ung has not clearly explained.
Ung can only survive this if he has receipts for every baht and satang, but today he did not bring all of them. Everything depends on each person's intentions; if they didn't intend to misuse others' money, they survive, but if not, they may face legal action.
Ek also expressed surprise about the meeting resolution process, saying Ung claimed he had Pim draft it, then called each person to sign. Ek is confused how they signed and unsure if this is procedurally valid, as normally a meeting with minutes and opinions is required.
For today, Ek sees clearly that Ung tries to throw everything onto Bum, claiming he didn't know or see Bum's behavior and just followed orders. But his actual duty is to know everything, and since he said he is close and Bum's right-hand man, shouldn't he know more? This is a question that must be asked, but it seems when the ship sinks, everyone jumps ship. Ek admits he still feels many things are inconsistent listening to the program, but must wait for them to gradually explain.
Ek also mentioned Lawyer Jo, Ung's lawyer, saying Ung's choice of Lawyer Jo suggests he knows Lawyer Jo's handwriting style, because usually Lawyer Jo does...
