BANGKOK, March 4, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Mr. Eric Mark Levine, the founder of 'California Fitness' clubs worldwide as well as 'California WOW Xperience' fitness clubs in Thailand, today filed a US$2.8 million (Bht 100 million) defamation lawsuit through his legal representative at Bangkok Criminal Court against Thailand's Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), as well as it's Secretary-General Police Colonel Sihanart Prayoonrat, for damaging Mr. Levine's reputation through public remarks made by the Police Colonel alleging improper payments and fund transfers by Mr. Levine.
Mr. Levine, formerly also the Chief Executive Officer of California WOW Xperience plc (CAWOW) said, "The Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand (SEC) has already investigated CAWOW's operations and financial records with specialist forensic accounting investigators as well as specially trained police officers and they have all publicly stated that there is no evidence of wrongdoing or of any action to substantiate the Anti-Money Laundering Office's allegations."
He added that the Department of Special Investigation has also refused to conduct any further investigation as requested by Police Colonel Prayoonrat and the AMLO.
Mr. Levine said that he and all involved in the management of California WOW Xperience had given their full cooperation to authorities during the investigations which had cleared them of the AMLO's allegations.
Mr. Levine added that internationally recognised auditing firms like "Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Jaiyos and Price Waterhouse Cooper have confirmed the accounts and transactions of California WOW Xperience to be correct and without irregularity, and that, far from taking money out of the company, I had injected personal funds to support the operations of the company in its final days."
