Scandals
In 2007 the Airports Authority of Thailand (AOT) ordered King Power out of Suvarnabhumi Airport as it found that they had colluded with politicians, AOT board members and AOT officials to open at the airport without permission from the government. It was found that the contracts were void because they were designed to avoid the Public-Private Joint Venture Act that requires a lengthy selection process for any investment worth one billion baht or more by the private sector in a state project. King Power filed lawsuits against AOT in the civil courts for nullifying their contracts.[5] To date, King Power remain at the airport and have recently applied for additional retail space.[6]
In 2009, King Power and its staff were accused of being involved in an elaborate scam involving extortion of tourists at its Suvarnabhumi Airport outlets. A foreign couple were arrested for shoplifting an expensive wallet then instead of being handed over to the police they were taken to a hotel where they were threatened with lengthy jail terms unless they paid cash to secure their freedom. The couple allege they were innocent, that King Power were implicit in the scam and that a foreign mediator, a Sri Lankan named Tony handled the negotiations. King Power issued cctv footage of the couple allegedly shoplifting and a denial they or their staff were involved. After this story broke several other similar cases came to light.[7]