A Bangkok court has issued an arrest warrant for Jakkaphong “Anne” Jakrajutatip, co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization. This action follows her failure to attend a court hearing in connection to a fraud case.

Jakkaphong faces allegations of defrauding an investor in 2023. Although she was previously released on bail, she did not appear in court on the scheduled date and failed to inform officials of her absence. According to a statement from the Bangkok South District Court, as reported by The Associated Press, this led the court to consider her a flight risk. The court has rescheduled the hearing for December 26.

In 2022, Jakkaphong’s company, JKN Global Group, acquired the Miss Universe Organization. The following year, they sold a 50% stake to Legacy Holding Group USA, owned by Mexican businessman Raúl Rocha Cantú.

JKN is accused of deceiving investor Raweewat Maschamadol during a corporate-bond transaction in 2023. Maschamadol claims the fraudulent deal cost him approximately $930,000 and alleges that Jakkaphong and JKN misrepresented the company’s financial status at the time of the bond sale. The company stopped making payments to investors in 2023, rendering the corporate bonds worthless.

Thai business magnate Jakkaphong “Anne” Jakrajutatip at a Miss Universe event in Bangkok. The arrest warrant comes after her absence from court regarding a fraud case linked to JKN Global Group. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

JKN has faced severe financial trouble in recent years, defaulting on investor payments in 2023 and entering debt rehabilitation in 2024. JKN reports obligations totaling about $93 million.

Jakkaphong, a well-known Thai celebrity, reality-show star and openly transgender woman, resigned from all company positions in June after being accused by Thailand’s SEC of falsifying 2023 financial statements, though Jakkaphong remains JKN’s largest shareholder.

Jakkaphong’s whereabouts remain unclear and Jakkaphong did not appear at the 74th Miss Universe competition, which was held in Bangkok earlier this month. 

On Monday, JKN denied rumors that she had liquidated the company’s assets and fled the country.

Jakkaphong “Anne” Jakrajutatip, chief executive of JKN Global Group and co-owner of the Miss Universe Organization, speaks during a 2022 interview in Bangkok. A Bangkok court has now issued an arrest warrant for Jakrajutatip after the media executive failed to appear in a fraud case. (REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha)

This year’s Miss Universe pageant faced a string of embarrassments.

A Thai organizer publicly reprimanded Mexico’s Fátima Bosch Fernández, who ultimately won the 2025 crown, sparking backlash, while two judges also withdrew, with one hinting the scoring wasn’t entirely above board.

Thai authorities separately opened an investigation into whether the event’s promotional materials illegally advertised online gambling.

The chaos deepened when Jamaica’s contestant, Gabrielle Henry, fell off the stage during the preliminary evening gown round.

Miss Mexico Fatima Bosch, center, is celebrated by other contestants after winning the 2025 Miss Universe pageant in Nonthaburi, Bangkok, Thailand, on, Nov. 21, 2025. (Sakchai Lalit/AP Photo)

President Donald Trump once owned the Miss Universe Organization, controlling the pageant from 1996 until 2015, when he sold it to talent agency giant IMG after NBC severed ties with him during the early stages of his presidential campaign. The brand has since changed hands multiple times.

Trump sold the company in 2015, and in 2022, IMG Worldwide LLC sold it to Jakrajutatip.