Premchai Karnasuta: Inside the Life of Thailand’s Veteran Construction Executive

Last Updated on August 30, 2026 by Fame Katha Editorial Team

Introduction

Premchai Karnasuta spent decades building his name inside Thailand’s construction industry.

For years, business came first.

He became closely associated with Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited, better known as ITD, the construction group founded by his father and Italian businessman Giorgio Berlingieri.

Huge projects followed.

Rail systems. Airports. Roads. Buildings. International ventures.

Then everything changed.

Premchai became a national news figure after his 2018 arrest inside the Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary. The case involved protected wildlife, including a black leopard commonly described in news reports as a black panther. Years of court proceedings ended with a prison sentence.

He was released on parole in 2023.

But the legal story did not end there.

In 2025, Premchai became one of the defendants in the criminal case linked to the collapse of Thailand’s State Audit Office building during the March 28 earthquake. As of August 30, 2026, that case remains before the court.

So his story is complicated.

Business success sits beside criminal convictions, family succession, corporate influence, and an unresolved legal battle.

Quick Facts About Premchai Karnasuta

Fact	Details
Full Name	Premchai Karnasuta
Thai Name	เปรมชัย กรรณสูต
Date of Birth	March 9, 1954
Age	72 in 2026
Nationality	Thai
Profession	Construction executive and businessman
Main Company	Italian-Thai Development PCL
Current ITD Position	Director and President
ITD President Since	1985, according to current ITD filings
ITD Director Since	March 24, 1994
Education	B.S. in Mining Engineering, Colorado School of Mines
Higher Education	MBA, University of Southern California
Father	Dr. Chaijudh Karnasuta
Mother	M.R.W. Pannajit Karnasuta
Wife	Kanitta Karnasuta
Children	Peeti, Prachaya and Thoranis Karnasuta
ITD Shareholding	628,213,626 shares, or 11.90%, as of February 27, 2026
Major Criminal Case	Thungyai wildlife case
Final Wildlife Sentence	3 years and 2 months
Released From Prison	October 17, 2023, on parole
Current Legal Matter	Defendant in the State Audit Office building-collapse case
Current Net Worth	No reliable public 2026 figure

Early Life and Family Background

Premchai Karnasuta was born on March 9, 1954.

Construction was already part of the family story.

His father, Dr. Chaijudh Karnasuta, trained as a physician but later entered business. Chaijudh eventually became one of the founders of the company that developed into Italian-Thai Development.

Premchai’s mother was M.R.W. Pannajit Karnasuta, née Worawan.

He was the youngest child.

Thai reporting identifies five children in the family: Ekachai, Pilaijit, Nijaporn, Orn-aim and Premchai. English spellings differ between sources because Thai names can be transliterated in several ways.

Premchai was not always the obvious successor.

His elder brother, Ekachai Karnasuta, had reportedly been expected to take a bigger leadership position in the family business. Ekachai died in a road accident in 1979.

That changed the family structure.

Premchai later moved deeper into the construction company his father had helped create.

Premchai Karnasuta’s Education

Premchai studied in Thailand before heading overseas.

Thai biographical accounts identify Chitralada School as part of his early education.

He later went to the United States.

According to Italian-Thai Development’s official 2026 director information, Premchai earned a:

• Bachelor of Science in Mining Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines
• Master of Business Administration from the University of Southern California

His engineering background made sense for the family business.

Mining became a personal business interest too.

Older profiles frequently linked Premchai with mining projects and overseas natural-resource opportunities alongside ITD’s better-known construction work.

How Italian-Thai Development Started

Premchai did not create Italian-Thai Development.

His father did.

The company’s roots go back to a partnership between Dr. Chaijudh Karnasuta and Italian businessman Giorgio Berlingieri.

Their working relationship developed after a successful ship-salvage operation in Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River.

The business formally became Italian-Thai Development Corporation Limited on August 15, 1958.

Its registered capital was initially 2 million baht.

It grew fast.

Construction work moved beyond marine projects into roads, airports, railway systems, buildings, bridges, mining operations and other large engineering contracts.

ITD became publicly listed in Thailand in 1994.

By then, Premchai had already spent years near the top of the company.

Premchai Karnasuta’s Rise at Italian-Thai Development

Premchai joined the family company after his studies in the United States.

His responsibilities grew.

ITD’s current corporate records state that he has served as President since 1985.

Some older media profiles place his rise to the presidency around 1986. For factual publication, the 1985 date is stronger because it appears in ITD’s own current filings.

He formally became an ITD director on March 24, 1994.

That means his connection with the board has lasted more than three decades.

Long career. Big company.

Under the Karnasuta family’s leadership, ITD became one of Thailand’s most recognizable construction contractors.

Major Projects Linked to ITD

Italian-Thai Development has worked across transport, buildings, industrial construction, mining and public infrastructure.

Its project record includes work connected with several major Thai developments.

Among them are:

• Suvarnabhumi Airport
• Bangkok BTS railway infrastructure
• Bangkok MRT projects
• Roads and expressways
• Railway construction
• Bridges
• Public buildings
• Power-related infrastructure
• Industrial projects
• Mining-related work

ITD also expanded outside Thailand.

Its operations and projects have reached countries including India, Bangladesh, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia, the Maldives, Madagascar and the Philippines.

The scale became huge.

Premchai spent much of his working life tied to that expansion.

Dawei and International Business Plans

One of ITD’s biggest overseas ambitions involved Dawei in Myanmar.

The proposed Dawei Special Economic Zone was planned as a huge industrial and infrastructure development with a deep-sea port, industrial facilities and transport links.

ITD became heavily involved during the project’s early years.

Premchai also showed strong interest in mining.

A Forbes profile published in 2011 discussed his interest in mineral opportunities across Africa, including possible ventures connected with gold, nickel and uranium.

ITD corporate material over the years has also referred to projects or proposed ventures involving minerals, energy and industrial work in several countries.

Some plans moved ahead.

Others did not reach their original scale.

That distinction matters. A proposed project should never be written about as a finished one.

His Role at ITD in 2026

Premchai remains formally connected to the top level of Italian-Thai Development.

As of 2026, the company lists him as:

Director and President

He is not currently listed as ITD chairman.

That job belongs to Virat Kongmaneerat.

Premchai’s son, Thoranis Karnasuta, serves as Acting President and Executive Vice President.

This creates an unusual setup.

Premchai still holds the formal president title, while Thoranis handles an increasingly visible executive role.

At ITD’s 2026 annual shareholders’ meeting, shareholders also approved Premchai’s reappointment as a director.

So he has not formally disappeared from the company.

But the next generation is clearly more visible.

Premchai Karnasuta’s ITD Shareholding

Premchai remains one of ITD’s biggest shareholders.

Company records dated February 27, 2026 show that he held:

628,213,626 ITD shares

That represented:

11.90% of the company

The wider Karnasuta family held about 21.40% according to the same shareholder disclosure.

His sister Nijaporn Charanachitta was another large shareholder.

His sons also appear in company ownership records.

This family ownership has kept the Karnasutas closely tied to ITD despite its status as a publicly traded company.

Premchai Karnasuta’s Wife and Children

Premchai is married to Kanitta Karnasuta.

Corporate records confirm three children:

Peeti Karnasuta

Peeti has been connected with ITD through director and executive work.

Corporate information has identified his educational background as including study in Applied Economics at the University of St Andrews.

Prachaya Karnasuta

Prachaya has also held business roles connected with the family group.

He appears in ITD shareholder records as well.

Thoranis Karnasuta

Thoranis has become especially important to ITD’s current management.

He studied Industrial Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, according to company records.

By 2026, he was serving as Acting President and Executive Vice President of ITD.

He has also appeared publicly on behalf of the company at major construction-related events.

The succession pattern is becoming clearer.

Premchai remains formally present, but Thoranis is taking on more visible responsibility.

Premchai Karnasuta’s Net Worth

There is no reliable current figure.

That is the safest answer.

Forbes included Premchai and members of his family in historical wealth rankings. Past estimates reached hundreds of millions of US dollars, depending on the year and whether his wealth was counted separately or together with family members.

One frequently cited figure placed Premchai and his sister Nijaporn Charanachitta at roughly $630 million combined in 2016.

But that does not establish Premchai’s wealth today.

Share prices change.

Assets change.

Debt matters too.

Private business holdings are harder to value.

So websites giving a precise 2026 Premchai Karnasuta net worth without current financial evidence should be treated carefully.

What can be confirmed is his 11.90% direct holding in ITD as of February 2026.

The 2018 Thungyai Black Panther Case

This case changed Premchai’s public image.

On February 4, 2018, Premchai and companions were detained inside the Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary in western Thailand.

Wildlife officials found firearms and remains of protected animals associated with the camp.

Reports identified animals including a black leopard, commonly called a black panther in coverage, along with a kalij pheasant and barking deer.

The story spread quickly.

Public anger followed.

For many people in Thailand, the case became tied to a bigger question: would wealth and business status affect how the law was applied?

Court proceedings lasted years.

Premchai Karnasuta’s Prison Sentence

The first major judgment came in March 2019.

Premchai received a prison sentence on several charges, though the trial court did not convict him at that stage of personally killing the black panther.

Appeal proceedings followed.

Then came the final ruling.

On December 8, 2021, Thailand’s Supreme Court imposed a final prison sentence of:

3 years and 2 months

The judgment was connected with the wildlife case.

The court proceedings also involved compensation connected with damage caused to protected wildlife.

Premchai entered prison.

This was no longer simply a media controversy.

It was a final criminal conviction.

When Was Premchai Karnasuta Released?

Premchai was released on parole on October 17, 2023.

Reports said he had spent about one year, ten months and nine days in prison after the Supreme Court judgment.

His remaining sentence continued under parole conditions.

The scheduled completion of the sentence came in December 2023.

Separate Bribery and Firearms Cases

The 2018 arrest created more than one court proceeding.

That can get confusing.

Premchai also faced a separate case linked to an alleged attempt to bribe wildlife officials.

In 2019, he received a one-year prison sentence in that matter.

An appellate court later upheld the conviction.

A different case followed the discovery of firearms at his Bangkok residence.

That proceeding reportedly produced a six-month prison sentence after a guilty plea concerning unlawful possession of firearms.

These cases were separate from the main wildlife judgment.

Premchai Was Acquitted in the Ivory Case

One outcome needs to be stated clearly.

Premchai was not convicted in every case connected with the investigation.

Premchai, his wife and another defendant faced charges concerning elephant ivory found at his home.

In October 2019, the court acquitted them.

The court accepted evidence presented about the ivory’s provenance and legality.

That acquittal matters.

Leaving it out would give readers an incomplete picture of the legal record.

Royal Decorations Were Withdrawn

The wildlife conviction brought another consequence.

Thailand’s Royal Gazette published a notice in May 2023 concerning the withdrawal of royal decorations previously awarded to Premchai.

The order covered two decorations.

The action followed his final imprisonment.

The underlying royal announcement was dated April 25, 2023, and was later published publicly.

The 2025 State Audit Office Building Collapse

Premchai returned to the centre of another major legal story in 2025.

On March 28, 2025, a powerful earthquake centered in Myanmar caused shaking across parts of the region.

In Bangkok, a high-rise building under construction for Thailand’s State Audit Office collapsed.

The project involved a joint venture between Italian-Thai Development and China Railway No. 10.

The collapse caused many deaths.

Investigations followed.

Engineers, construction personnel, executives and companies came under scrutiny.

Premchai was among them.

Arrest and Charges in the Building-Collapse Case

On May 15, 2025, Thailand’s Criminal Court approved arrest warrants for 17 people connected with the investigation.

Premchai was one of those named.

He surrendered the next day.

Authorities detained him after his initial bail request was rejected.

Prosecutors later brought a wider case involving 23 defendants.

The prosecution concerns alleged construction and professional failures tied to the building collapse.

Premchai has contested the case.

He should not be described as guilty of those allegations because the trial remains unresolved.

That point is basic but important.

Premchai Karnasuta Received Bail in 2025

Premchai spent several months in custody.

On November 26, 2025, Thailand’s Criminal Court granted him temporary release.

Reports placed bail at about 1.5 million baht.

Conditions reportedly included electronic monitoring and limits on leaving Thailand without court permission.

The criminal case continued.

Current Legal Status in 2026

As of August 30, 2026, Premchai has not been convicted in the State Audit Office building-collapse case.

The trial is still active.

Court hearings continued during July 2026.

Thai reporting confirmed that prosecution witnesses were still being heard and that evidence-related issues remained before the court.

So the correct wording is simple:

Premchai Karnasuta is a defendant in an ongoing criminal case related to the State Audit Office building collapse.

A charge is not a conviction.

That distinction should stay clear until the court issues a final judgment.

Premchai Karnasuta’s Place in Thai Business

Premchai has spent most of his adult life connected with one of Thailand’s biggest construction companies.

That alone makes him a major business figure.

ITD grew across public infrastructure, rail, aviation, roads, mining, industrial work and overseas construction during his decades in senior management.

But public memory changed after 2018.

The wildlife case became impossible to separate from his name.

His imprisonment made the story even bigger.

Now another court case hangs over him.

Still, he remains an ITD director and formal president, owns a large block of company shares, and belongs to the family that has controlled the business for generations.

His son Thoranis is increasingly visible.

That may tell us where ITD is heading next.

Final Thought

Premchai Karnasuta’s life cannot be reduced to one headline.

He helped run Italian-Thai Development through decades of major infrastructure work and international expansion. He became one of Thailand’s better-known construction executives and retained a large personal stake in the company.

Then came the black-panther case.

The Supreme Court conviction sent him to prison and permanently changed his public standing.

Now, at 72, Premchai remains formally connected with ITD while his son Thoranis takes a bigger executive role. At the same time, Premchai faces another serious court proceeding linked to the 2025 State Audit Office building collapse.

That case remains unresolved.

For now, his story is still being written.

FAQs

Who is Premchai Karnasuta?

Premchai Karnasuta is a Thai businessman, director and president of Italian-Thai Development Public Company Limited.

How old is Premchai Karnasuta?

He was born on March 9, 1954. He is 72 years old as of August 2026.

Who founded Italian-Thai Development?

Premchai’s father, Dr. Chaijudh Karnasuta, co-founded the company with Italian businessman Giorgio Berlingieri in 1958.

Is Premchai Karnasuta still president of ITD?

Yes. ITD’s 2026 corporate information lists him as director and president. His son Thoranis Karnasuta serves as acting president and executive vice president.

Who is Premchai Karnasuta’s wife?

His wife is Kanitta Karnasuta.

How many children does Premchai Karnasuta have?

ITD records identify three children: Peeti Karnasuta, Prachaya Karnasuta and Thoranis Karnasuta.

What is Premchai Karnasuta’s net worth?

No reliable current 2026 net-worth figure is publicly verified. Historical Forbes estimates placed him and family members among wealthy Thai business figures.

Why did Premchai Karnasuta go to prison?

His final Supreme Court sentence came from the Thungyai wildlife case. In December 2021, he received a prison term of three years and two months.

When was Premchai Karnasuta released?

He was released on parole on October 17, 2023.

Was Premchai convicted in the ivory case?

No. Premchai, his wife and another defendant were acquitted in the ivory case in October 2019.

Is Premchai Karnasuta involved in the State Audit Office collapse case?

Yes. He is a defendant in the criminal case connected with the 2025 building collapse. As of August 30, 2026, the trial remains ongoing and there has been no final conviction against him in that matter.

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