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Nawat Itsaragrisil clarifies role within Miss Universe Organization, calls for transparency on Puerto Rico dealings
Nawat Itsaragrisil has addressed the statement of the Miss Universe Organization denying a relationship between him and MUO except as a franchise holder.
In a personal statement dated September 9 posted on Instagram, Itsaragrisil said he never claimed to be the sole representative of MUO or the JKN Universe LLC, the company behind Miss Universe.
JKN Universe LLC is owned by JKN Legacy Inc., a joint venture between Thailand's JKN Global Group and Mexico's Legacy Holding Group. The partners have an equal 50:50 ownership structure as Miss Universe Eastern and Miss Universe Western.
Itsaragrisil said he was appointed CEO of MU East on July 30, 2026.
"My authority is not derived from the personal authority of any individual. It derives from my formal corporate appointment and from the contractual and governance framework under which Miss Universe Eastern operates," Itsaragrisil said.
"Whether another party chooses to 'recognize' my position through a public statement does not determine whether my appointment within MU East exists. The corporate documents do," he added.
MUO previously said that "any authority" Itsaragrisil may claim is through former CEO Jakkaphong "Anne" Jakrajutatip, the founder of the JKN Global Group which previously owned Miss Universe before selling 50% stake to Legacy Holding Group in 2024. The organization said Jakrajutatip, reportedly the subject of an arrest warrant for a fraud case in Thailand, has no current authority or active operational role within MUO.
The organization also said that Itsaragrisil has "no employment, corporate, executive, operational, or legal position" within the organization and that MU East "has no recognized legal, contractual, or commercial relationship conferring upon it any authority" over the MUO.
MU East, through the Miss Universe official Facebook page, said it did not review or approve the statement released on Instagram by MUO.
The public spat began when Itsaragrisil went on a TikTok live raising concerns about the transactions made by the MUO in Puerto Rico, the host country of this year's pageant.
"I did not speak without a basis. I spoke because I had documents before me that I believed required serious questions to be asked," he explained in his September 9 statement.
"I have reviewed financial records identifying specific transactions involving corporate funds that, in my view, require serious clarification and supporting documentation. I will not make accusations beyond what the evidence can establish," he added.
Itsaragrisil denied that he called for the cancellation of the pageant in Puerto Rico and said he wants to protect the country.
"The individual representing the Western side in connection with this event has been publicly associated with extremely serious criminal allegations and proceedings in Mexico, including allegations concerning organized crime, trafficking of firearms, illicit trafficking and commercialization of hydrocarbons, narcotics-related activities, and financial transactions alleged to be connected with unlawful activities," he said.
"These are not allegations created by me. They have been the subject of investigations and proceedings involving Mexico's Fiscalia General de la Republica (FGR) and have been widely reported internationally."
Itsaragrisil did not mention a name, but last year, reports said that Miss Universe President Raul Rocha has allegedly been charged with drugs, arms, and fuel trafficking between Guatemala and Mexico. Rocha is the owner of Legacy Holding Group.
"The existence and seriousness of these matters raise legitimate questions of reputational risk, governance, due diligence, and international credibility for any government or public institution entering into a significant agreement associated with that individual," he said.
Itsaragrisil called for transparency on the dealings made by the MUO in Puerto Rico.
"If every agreement was properly authorized, every payment properly directed, every transaction legitimate, and every corporate approval properly obtained, then transparency should strengthen - not threaten - the 75th Miss Universe," he said.
"I stand by what I have said where it is supported by those documents. And where questions remain, I believe the responsible course is simple: Open the records. Show the authorization. And let the documents speak for themselves."
—MGP, GMA News
