Aec To Seize Pojaman's Land

[george]

AEC to seize Pojaman's land

BANGKOK: -- Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra, wife of ousted premier Thaksin, will soon face the seizure of her Ratchadapisek plot illegally bought from the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF), a senior graft buster said Monday.

"The Pojaman case is like an analogy drawn from a robbery - the stolen asset must be seized and returned to the rightful owner after the thief got caught," Assets Examiniation Committee chairman Nam Yimyaem said.

The plot seizure should happen after the Udom Fuangfung panel completed its hearing for possible indictments against Pojaman, Nam said.

The hearing is in progress and has reached a stage where Pojaman would have to present her defence within seven days, he said.

Then the Udom panel would outline the charges and recommend trial in the Supreme Court's Criminal Tribunal for Political Office Holders, he said.

The AEC is empowered to impound any ill-gotten assets ahead of the judicial review, he said.

He also stated that he was confident in securing a conviction because Pojaman and her husband Thaksin had jointly violated the ban against government officials and spouses from entering into a state contract.

-- The Nation 2007-01-29

[samtam]

Finally. Are we seeing some action here? I suppose the next hurdle will be that she's too busy to attend, as she has a pressing engagement at Cartier's in Paris, or Tiffany's in New York, etc.

Edited January 29, 2007 by samtam

[John K]

Well this is some good news. I hope there is some jail time with this and not just a re-po.

[Tony Clifton]

Yep, let's see if yet another delayed testimony is coming up.

Does one get stripped of his/her title such as "Khunying" if found guilty of a crime? We're not talking about shoplifting here... How about a Pol Lt Col., who has also received honorary degress and obtained a mysterious PhD? Do universities usually distance themselves from such people?

[blaze]

I don't understand the process referred to here. Khun Nam, chief officer of the AEC, announces that the land was bought illegally and would soon be seized.

... after the hearing for possible indictiments.

Would someone explain to me how this does not sound like guilt and at least partial punitive has been officially determined and that all we need now is the hearing.

Isn't this like a judge saying, here's the verdict, here's some of the penalty- now- let's get on with the court case.

Or am I misinterpreting the mandate of the AEC. Can it in fact determine guilt before a hearing?

[Briggsy]

Aec to seize Pojaman's land.

But not quite yet.

Maybe next week or ....

maybe not , I have to go to the dentist next week

and see which way the wind blows

You never know these buggers could be back in before you know it

and then our goose would be well and truly cooked

Best do nothing really

Yes, that's the best plan

But we'll keeping making noises to keep the others happy

Well, it's gone midday, I'd best get off I have a tee time....

[astral]

It is a step in the right direction

and may give others food for thought...........

[Plus]

They can seize the assets when the indictment is ready for courts. She can get the land back if the court rules in her favour.

Sounds pretty clear.

[Siripon]

This case is very interesting.

In the last days of December,(was it 2003 or 2005?) Pojaman bought this land from the BOT at 772 million baht. The median price was 765 million baht so the BOT claimed they sold at a profit of7 million baht.

What they forget to mention was on Jan 1 the median price increased to 1005 baht.

So why didn't the BOT wait just 2 or 3 days?

The land tax based on the sale depends on the median price, so apart from selling way below the median price the BOT lost out on the tax.

Futhermore, the company bidding against Pojaman was one of Thaksin's allies, one of The Land and House companies, so there was no real bidding, and guess who the BOT gave a banking licence to later on?

Yes, Land and House!

Someone who used to work at BOT has tried to keep all this quiet, can you guess who that is?

[blaze]

They can seize the assets when the indictment is ready for courts. She can get the land back if the court rules in her favour.

Sounds pretty clear.

Again, "Or am I misinterpreting the mandate of the AEC. Can it in fact determine guilt before a hearing?" Does it have the authority to determine that the land was bought illegally (as stated by the chairman) before the hearing is completed?

Edited January 29, 2007 by blaze

[Arkady]

This case is very interesting.

In the last days of December,(was it 2003 or 2005?) Pojaman bought this land from the BOT at 772 million baht. The median price was 765 million baht so the BOT claimed they sold at a profit of7 million baht.

What they forget to mention was on Jan 1 the median price increased to 1005 baht.

So why didn't the BOT wait just 2 or 3 days?

The land tax based on the sale depends on the median price, so apart from selling way below the median price the BOT lost out on the tax.

Futhermore, the company bidding against Pojaman was one of Thaksin's allies, one of The Land and House companies, so there was no real bidding, and guess who the BOT gave a banking licence to later on?

Yes, Land and House!

Someone who used to work at BOT has tried to keep all this quiet, can you guess who that is?

You are right and the bad loans collateralised by this plot were bought by the BoT for B2bn. The BoT is still trying to obfuscate this case and refuse to estimate the damage cause by this collusion. Sadly most of the corruption cases are like this with so many dirty hands in the pie that evidence with not stick. I think this asset will either never be seized or will be handed back soon afterwards on appeal.

[John K]

The government now has it’s face at stake here. So far going after Thaksin has been frustrating because they are playing Thaksin’s game of hide the paper trail. I expect them to make a big showing here. Don’t forget how many people Thaksin pissed off, stepped on, and ruined to get to where he was before they sent him packing. It is a bit scary to think where Thailand would be now if Thaksin was still in power.

[Scott]

Yes, he made plenty of people angry, but he also has a pretty loyal base of followers who are not going to forget the good things he did for them.

It's probably time for the country to really start cleaning up its entire act.

[esprit]

Where would Thai be know ? Exactly where are they now anyway apart from that is going round in ever decreasing circles alternating between problems of banking and the airport. Unfortunately Thai culture is such that most efforts are put into finding someone to blame for all ills rather than fixing the problem first and then deducing why it occurred. As a consequence everybody and anybody gets the blame and nothing gets fixed. At least the latest moves seem to indicate that this governement are now finally trying to fix the problems, or at least some of them.

Edited January 30, 2007 by daveupson

[John K]

Stolen asset must be returned to its rightful owner, says AEC chief Nam

The controversial land plot on Ratchadapisek bought from the Financial Institutions Develop-ment Fund (FIDF) by Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra, wife of ousted premier Thaksin, could soon be seized, a senior graft buster said yesterday.

"The Pojaman case is like an analogy drawn from a robbery - the stolen asset must be seized and returned to the rightful owner after the thief gets caught," Assets Examination Committee (AEC) chairman Nam Yimyaem said.

Nam yesterday led other AEC members in a meeting with Council for National Security (CNS) chairman General Sonthi Boonyaratglin and senior officials from relevant ministries at

the Army headquarters.

At the meeting, AEC members asked the government to issue a Cabinet resolution requiring relevant agencies to cooperate with the AEC, by providing necessary information and filing complaints as the damaged party against corrupt politicians, according to its spokesman Sak Korsaengruang.

The AEC also urged the government to amend the anti-graft law to allow it to investigate corruption cases involving political office holders, even though no complaints were filed.

Nam yesterday said the seizure of Pojaman's plot should happen after the Udom Fuangfung panel completes its hearing for possible indictments against Pojaman.

The hearing is in progress and has reached a stage where Pojaman will have to present her defence within seven days, he said.

The Udom panel would then outline the charges and recommend a trial in the Supreme Court's Criminal Tribunal for Political Office Holders, he said.

The AEC is empowered to impound any ill-gotten assets ahead of the judicial review, he said.

Nam also stated he was confident of securing a conviction because Pojaman and her husband Thaksin had jointly violated the ban against government officials and spouses entering into a state contract.

Yesterday's meeting of the AEC appointed Banjerd Singkaneti, who heads the fact-finding team on the rubber saplings procurement scandal, to chair the eight-member subcommittee to open a hearing on possible indictments, said AEC spokesman Sak.

The panel would also investigate the latest complaint filed yesterday by Veera Somkwamkid, secretary-general of the People's Network against Corruption, who claimed that many of the saplings were planted on land in Buri Ram belonging to a former Cabinet member, according to the spokesman.

Banjerd's fact-finding team has named 50 suspects - including the ousted Cabinet members - for being involved in the rubber saplings procurement scandal.

In regard to the tax audit on the transfer of Shin shares between a paper company, Ample Rich, and Thaksin's two children - Panthongtae and Pinthongta - the AEC was trying to verify whether the transaction took place in Thailand or abroad, a source said.

If the transaction happened under the Thai jurisdiction, then it would incur tax liabilities.

In their respective statements, Panthongtae and Pinthongta both said their mother's private secretary Kanchanapa Honghern arranged the deal on their behalf via a bank branch in Switzerland, the source said.

The AEC has summoned additional documents from Kanchanapa to check the statements of the two, according to the source.

Source: The Nation

[sriracha john]

This case is very interesting.

In the last days of December,(was it 2003 or 2005?) Pojaman bought this land from the BOT at 772 million baht. The median price was 765 million baht so the BOT claimed they sold at a profit of7 million baht.

What they forget to mention was on Jan 1 the median price increased to 1005 baht.

So why didn't the BOT wait just 2 or 3 days?

The land tax based on the sale depends on the median price, so apart from selling way below the median price the BOT lost out on the tax.

Futhermore, the company bidding against Pojaman was one of Thaksin's allies, one of The Land and House companies, so there was no real bidding, and guess who the BOT gave a banking licence to later on?

Yes, Land and House!

Someone who used to work at BOT has tried to keep all this quiet, can you guess who that is?

Excerpts from the censure debate:

'Government's loss, Pojaman's gain'

Published on May 21, 2004, The Nation

Democrats question rushed sale of prime city block to PM's wife, saying irregularities cost FIDF millions

The FIDF was questioned about its rush to sell the land plots, and the irregular conditions of the auction.

Finance Minister Somkid hit back, saying there was no irregularity. "Khunying joined the auction on her own to show her sincerity. She has all the right, as a Thai national. Why can people be this pessimistic? Be positive."

On July 10 last year (which would have been 2003), when the FIDF put the land up for bid on the Internet. The auction was dropped after three registered buyers - Land & House, Sansiri and Asian Property - complained that the FIDF's minimum acceptable bid price of Bt870 million was too high.

A second auction was announced November 25, 2003. No minimum price was set this time and was sold to Pojaman at a price of Bt58,173 per square wah or a total of Bt772 million after she surfaced - as the only bidder.

MP Arkom Engchuan, a Krabi Democrat, expressed surprise that Pojaman turned out to be the only bidder in the second round.

Other irregularities summed up by Arkom included a FIDF condition - issued just one day before the auction - that bidders must post a Bt100 million down-payment, compared to the Bt10 million required in the first auction.

"Due to Minister Suchart's neglect, the FIDF sold the land at a cheaper-than-usual price. The bidding procedures were also carried out in a way to benefit connected parties," he said.

Pojaman's bid was opened on December 16 and the land transferred on December 30, 2003.

Arkom noted that if the transaction had been completed on January 1, the FIDF could have reaped larger proceeds as the land valuation price increased by 20 per cent from two days earlier to some Bt64,000 per square wah.

With the updated land valuation, the FIDF could have earned an extra Bt86 million in addition to a 2-per-cent transaction fee, which would have been applied at the start of the year.

"Why did the FIDF rush to sell the land plots, when it had many other real estate assets in hand? The land plots are in a prime location, where many projects, including the underground train will take place. They could have fetched a higher sum," he said.

-----------------------------------------

and yes.... the BOT was in the thick of it in defending the deal.

Edited January 30, 2007 by sriracha john

[Arkady]

Where would Thai be know ? Exactly where are they now anyway apart from that is going round in ever decreasing circles alternating between problems of banking and the airport. Unfortunately Thai culture is such that most efforts are put into finding someone to blame for all ills rather than fixing the problem first and then deducing why it occurred. As a consequence everybody and anybody gets the blame and nothing gets fixed. At least the latest moves seem to indicate that this governement are now finally trying to fix the problems, or at least some of them.

They have already found out who is responsible for all these problems and have started a crack down against the culprits - foeigners.

[Plus]

There was also an issue with land valuation - FIDF used a company that gave them unusually low price, far lower than relevant government agency's valuation.

Apparently what stalls the prosecution is that FIDF is afraid that AEC will go after them like they did with Rev. Dept. officials. There were all in it together but they want only Pojamarn be punished.

AEC should decide, and quickly, what it wants to do with civil servants impicated in Thaksin's deals. Blank amnesty in return for cooperation looks like the only way to go.

Even if they amend the law to allow AEC to prosecute without official complains from government departments, they still need bureaucrats' help with the evidence.

[sibeymai]

The government needs to get tough with the civil servants, without whose complicity, none of these scams could have taken place.

Amnesty does appear to be the only way to go, but with certain provisions:

- the amnesty will only be for a limited time, say 3 to 6 months

- those claiming amnesty must be seen to give absolute co-operation to investigators. Anything less and the amnesty is withdrawn and replaced with prosecution

- anyone claiming amnesty is granted immunity from criminal or civil prosecution and must decalre the financial benefits they received and return them to the state

- introduce new sentencing guidelines which significantly increases the penalty for anyone who does not come forward during the amnesty and is subsequently convicted of a corruption offence with a mandatory confiscation of 100% of the assets and those of their immediate family

Simply put, make the price to pay for keeping silent unbearable for the guilty and their families.

Edited January 30, 2007 by sibeymai

[Dupont]

Yes, he made plenty of people angry, but he also has a pretty loyal base of followers who are not going to forget the good things he did for them.

It's probably time for the country to really start cleaning up its entire act.

Thats right,

Along with his cronies, I am sure that he let all the important snouts into the trough, the snouts that could have been fingering him now. Very quiet isn't it?

The whole lot was under Taxin, down the centuries and, still is, much more rotten and integrated than we can imagine.

Its certainly going to be virtually impossible to prove anything and will probably end, with Taxin in by the backdoor by virtue of the papers and proofs he has kept of everybody elses involvement.

I think I may have heard a gargle, thats all, certainly no sign of the fat lady singing yet.

[Johpa]

The government now has it’s face at stake here. So far going after Thaksin has been frustrating because they are playing Thaksin’s game of hide the paper trail.

Certainly Thaksin has no grand standing in the Thai version of the playing of the hide-the-paper-trail game. There are countless Thai government officials who have been playing this game even longer than Mr. Thaksin and so should easily be able to unravel the mysteries. But people who live in glass houses are loath to throw stones and the efforts to save face (raksaa naa) are working in many dimensions here.