Thaksin Looking To Buy Manchester City For 6 Billion Baht

[sriracha john]

Noppadon Pattama, lawyer of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, shows Manchester City jersey at a press conference Thursday as Thaksin offered a 81.6 million pounds bid to take over the English club. It is not clear which season the jersey was.

The Nation

=============================

It seems Noppadope really has a penchant for over-sized clothes, whether it's a suit or a football jersey.

[sriracha john]

A view of the Manchester City football Club stadium, in Manchester, in north-west England in February 2007. Thailand's ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, facing corruption charges at home, won acceptance on Thursday for an 81.6-million-pound bid for English Premiership football club Manchester City.

Manchester City board accepts Thaksin takeover

Thailand's ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, facing corruption charges at home, won acceptance on Thursday for an 81.6-million-pound bid for English Premiership football club Manchester City.

.

The formal bid for the Blues, worth 121.5 million euros or 162.6 million dollars, was made by Thaksin's UK Sports Investments company and was backed by management at Manchester City, the boards said in a joint statement.

.

The offer came as Thai prosecutors in Bangkok laid formal criminal corruption charges against former prime minister Thaksin in the first case to reach court since a coup last year removed him from power.

.

Manchester City, which finished a disappointing 14th place last season in the Premiership, has become the latest English football team to attract takeover interest from abroad.

.

"This offer provides an exciting opportunity to take Manchester City to the next stage of our development and deliver the on-field success we have been striving for," Man City chairman John Wardle said in the statement.

.

If the bid for Manchester City is completed, eight Premiership clubs will be under foreign ownership -- including also Aston Villa, Chelsea, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester United, Portsmouth and West Ham United.

.

Hong Kong businessman Carson Yeung is bidding to buy Premiership newcomers Birmingham City, while Arsenal may soon face a takeover offer from US magnate Stan Kroenke, who recently built up a 12.0-percent stake in the London club.

.

Finally, Newcastle United were this month bought by British tycoon Mike Ashley.

.

Premiership clubs are being sought at a time when income of each of the league's 20 teams is set to rise by an average of more than ten million pounds per year following a record-busting overseas television rights deal.

.

"I am delighted that the board of Manchester City has recommended my bid for the club and I look forward to continuing the excellent work of John Wardle and his team," Shinawatra said in the statement.

.

"We share a determination to take the club back to its rightful place at the highest level of competition in both the Premier League and European football."

.

Manchester City have long lived in the shadows of neighbours Manchester United. While the Red Devils have won countless domestic honours as well as European titles over the past two decades, success for City has come only in the form of promotion to the Premiership.

.

City sacked Stuart Pearce as their manager at the end of the 2006-07 season and have yet to find a replacement. Sven-Goran Eriksson's agent has rubbished claims the former England manager is set to fill the role should Shinawatra win control of the club.

.

With City in limbo, the club has been unable to attract new players, while last season's star performers, Joey Barton and Sylvain Distin, have joined Newcastle and Portsmouth respectively in time for the new season which begins in August.

.

If Thaksin takes control at Man City, Wardle will remain on the board, while Alistair Mackintosh will stay as chief executive.

.

Although Thaksin has won over the board, he must still gain the backing of other shareholders and pass a standard "fit and proper person" test. This is carried out by the Premier League, which runs the Premiership.

.

In Bangkok, meanwhile, Noppadon Pattama, Thaksin's lawyer and spokesman in Thailand, said that Thai police should deliver corruption charges to the former premier overseas, rather than demand the exiled leader return to Thailand.

.

Thaksin and his wife Pojaman were ordered to appear before police in Bangkok next week to face corruption charges over an alleged fraudulent filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

.

Thaksin has stayed in exile since the military toppled his government in September last year, staying mainly at his London home.

— AFP

Edited June 21, 2007 by sriracha john

[Majeed]

Fantastic news for all City supporters.

Great excitement and happiness in Manchester.

We are a football club, and there will be no politics involved. But we will show our solidarity with ALL the people of Thailand by making a huge Thai flag.

Thank you for letting me use your message board.

[sriracha john]

A ton of Thakky quotes in this one...

some real... some imagined... should be able to sort which is what...

Thaksin: " I've Met Sven "

Thaksin Shinawatra hopes to have a new Manchester City manager in place inside the next week - and admits he has spoken to Sven-Goran Eriksson.

The former England coach would appear to be the front-runner now Shinawatra has a controlling interest in the club.

Shinawatra made a formal 81.6million pounds offer for City on Thursday and the board have recommended shareholders to accept it.

The former Thai prime minister has been pledged a 55.9% stake through irrevocable undertakings - shares owned by members of the board and former chairman Francis Lee.

His first task is to appoint a new manager, through recommendations from his advisors, and headway is being made.

Shinawatra told Sky Sports News: "I have advisors working on the new manager and they inform me from time to time - I leave this to my professionals."

"Sven-Goran Eriksson is one of the names that my advisor told me about." "He has a very good reputation and he is a very capable coach."

"I've met him once - probably last week maybe."

"I had my advisor talk to him and just say hello and touch base." "I didn't talk to him (Eriksson) that long because my advisor did that interview."

* " Because I don't know Swedish or English. " *

"I am very new in the Premier League so I'll let the professionals decide."

"If they will give me all the analysis and tell me this is the one they prefer...I normally follow their recommendation."

* " Because I have absolutely no clue what is happening. " *

It is understood Shinawatra and his team would like the new man in place before the players return to training at the beginning of July. That way the coach and the players can hit the ground running and enjoy a full pre-season together.

Shinawatra said: "Nobody's perfect but as long as he can do the job and likes the job and is fit for it, and my advisors say this is the man, then I'll support it."

"I can't say anything until next week." "I hope to have a manager."

"After I have more than 75% I can decide on many important issues."

- SportingLife.com

Edited June 21, 2007 by sriracha john

[sriracha john]

In the news clipping forum, there's a thread about death threats against Thaksin... but as this shows, there's no need for anyone to do that... he's killing himself.

As witnessed in these photos:

FIFA President Joseph Blatter hands the flag commemorating FIFA's centennial to then Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra during a courtesy call at government house in Bangkok, Thailand, in this Thursday, Nov. 25, 2004 file photo. Thaksin, the former Thai leader, regained some of his lost prestige and political weight by formally announcing his bid for the English Premier League soccer club, Manchester City on Thursday.

Associated Press Photo

and then compared his physical appearance to this one taken from earlier this month..

The amount of aging that occurred in just a scant 2 and half years is astounding.

From youthful and vibrant to haggard and pale...

[bkkandrew]

In the news clipping forum, there's a thread about death threats against Thaksin... but as this shows, there's no need for anyone to do that... he's killing himself.

As witnessed in these photos:

FIFA President Joseph Blatter hands the flag commemorating FIFA's centennial to then Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra during a courtesy call at government house in Bangkok, Thailand, in this Thursday, Nov. 25, 2004 file photo. Thaksin, the former Thai leader, regained some of his lost prestige and political weight by formally announcing his bid for the English Premier League soccer club, Manchester City on Thursday.

Associated Press Photo

and then compared his physical appearance to this one taken from earlier this month..

The amount of aging that occurred in just a scant 2 and half years is astounding.

From youthful and vibrant to haggard and pale...

A word to the wise John, you are getting a little obsessed. I disliked Mt T with a passion, but resorting to rejoicing in his ill-health is bad taste and not going to win any arguments.

[sriracha john]

A word to the wise John, you are getting a little obsessed. I disliked Mt T with a passion, but resorting to rejoicing in his ill-health is bad taste and not going to win any arguments.

I wasn't rejoicing at his ill-health... otherwise, I would have put a thumbs-up smilie in my post.

I was just noticing, as an observation, the rapid deterioration of his appearance through his

self-imposed increased stress level, which is only likely to increase now that he is the owner AND facing a myriad of difficulties.

I wish him a long life... albeit, one spent behind bars.

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

Ex-PM is loved and hated in equal measure

In the view of many Thais, the one-time cop who has bought Manchester City may turn out to be their country's greatest robber.

Just hours before the club accepted his bid, Thaksin Shinawatra was formally charged - in absentia - over an alleged cut-price land deal his wife, Pojaman, clinched with the central bank while he was prime minister in 2003.

Every day brings fresh corruption allegations against a man whose frozen bank accounts now total more than £1 billion. He denies any wrongdoing.

Everything he has ever done has been on a grand scale. In 2001 he was the first Thai prime minister to be elected with an absolute majority. Before he was ousted by a military coup last September, he was the first to complete a full term in office.

He had already made a billion or two *baht perhaps, but certaining not pounds* in business when he set up his own party and entered politics in 1999. "As a rural kid, the son of a coffee shop owner, I helped my father with his orchards, newspaper delivery and mobile cinema," Thaksin wrote in his pitch to the electorate in 2000. The truth seems to be rather different.

According to his biographers, he comes from "one of the most prominent families in Thailand's second city, Chiang Mai," where they had been powerful in local business and politics for four generations.

He joined the police, married a senior officer's daughter, and rose to the rank of colonel. After taking a PhD in criminal justice from a minor university in Texas, he used his political connections to build a telecoms monopoly and make a fortune.

Among Thais, Thaksin inspires love and hatred in equal measure.

But every night, thousands of his supporters rally in central Bangkok demanding that the generals who overthrew him reverse their coup.

His power base is among the rural poor. His populist economic policy, known as "Thaksinomics," won praise from hard-up peasants and the International Monetary Fund. The generals have tried to copy it with limited success.

But there were always contradictions. "He never knew where the national interest ended and Thaksin Incorporated's interests began," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a political commentator. He lent government money to Burma, which Burma spent on services from his private company, Shin Corp.

His "war on drugs" resulted in 2,500 suspected dealers being shot dead.

Finally, the army moved against him in September, mounting a bloodless coup while he was in New York to address the United Nations.

His interest in the Premiership surfaced in 2004, when he announced that he was in "serious" talks to buy Liverpool.

Almost immediately, a government spokesman announced that "Thailand as a country" would buy the club.

The deal, however, was criticised for being ''unconstitutional and unethical'' and Liverpool fans were appalled when he could name only two players.

Jakrapob Penkair, who describes himself as "Shinawatra's Alastair Campbell", says: "He is a rich man who is not shy about being rich. He wants to own life's fantasies and he's crazy about soccer."

Many believe that owning a Premiership club will keep him in the public mind in football-mad Thailand.

But Penkair, who claims to speak to him every few days, insists: "It's not a politically motivated action because many Thai people are crazy about Man United, not Man City. So when he tries to buy Man City he goes against many Thai hearts."

- The Telegraph (UK)

[sriracha john]

Thai corruption charge overshadows tycoon's Premiership club hopes

· Ex-prime minister accused of helping wife buy land

· Board eager for transfer cash but fans have doubts

Thailand's billionaire former prime minister was charged with corruption yesterday - hours before he launched a formal bid to become the latest high-profile overseas owner of a Premiership football club.

Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a military coup in his homeland nine months ago, tabled an £86.1m offer to buy Manchester City, with the aim of reviving the glory days of one of England's best supported clubs.

The present City board is recommending its shareholders accept the offer, but supporters, although anxious to secure Mr Thaksin's millions to spend in the transfer market, expressed concerns about his colourful background.

After months of accusations by Thailand's ruling junta, prosecutors yesterday formally accused the 57-year-old of illegally helping his wife to buy a prime piece of land in Bangkok at a bargain price from the Bank of Thailand after other bidders withdrew from the auction.

Mr Thaksin has been living in exile, mainly in London, since he was deposed in the bloodless coup while he was out of the country in September amid a flurry of corruption allegations that split the country between those who loved him and those who loathed him.

If the Manchester City deal is approved and Mr Thaksin passes the Premiership's "fit and proper person" test, the club will become the eighth in the league under foreign ownership.

There is speculation that even more clubs could become targets of overseas interest as the trend started by the £140m sale of Chelsea to the Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich in 2003 intensifies. Investors are increasingly lured by a heady mix of the prestige and glamour of the league coupled with the unprecedented £2.7bn global TV rights, which means that next season's champions will win £50m and the bottom club £26.8m even before selling tickets and merchandise.

Manchester City's board, headed by chairman John Wardle, accepted financial assurances from Mr Thaksin yesterday, claiming the offer would "deliver the on-field success we have been striving for".

Mr Thaksin's favoured choice to become City's manager is former England coach Sven-Goran Eriksson, who could have £50m to spend on new players to elevate the fortunes of a club that last won silverware in 1976. It finished 14th in last season's Premiership, while arch rivals Manchester United claimed another title.

City, currently £60m in debt, have pledged 55.9% of the shares - those owned by members of the board and former chairman Francis Lee - to Mr Thaksin. If he were also to obtain the 9.9% owned by the only other major shareholder, Sky, he would have 65.8% - close to the 75% threshold where he could take the company off the stock market. Mr Thaksin plans to become chairman with his son and daughter joining the board,.

But before he can sit in the directors' box at Manchester City's Eastlands stadium, attention will switch back to Bangkok. A nine-judge panel of Thailand's supreme court has until July 10 to decide whether to press ahead with charges that he allegedly flouted a bar on politicians being involved in the sale of state assets.

Over the past week a committee set up by the military-appointed government to investigate corruption allegations against Mr Thaksin has frozen about £900m of assets raised from the sale of his telecoms empire. Earlier this week the Thai justice ministry ordered him to return by June 29 to face charges of concealing his assets. The prime minister, Surayud Chulanont, gave assurances that Mr Thaksin would be safe, but the army chief, Sonthi Boonyaratglin, warned he could be the target for assassins.

The coup leaders were under mounting pressure to come up with hard evidence against Mr Thaksin because the corruption allegations were among the prime justifications for his overthrow nine months ago.

The charges relate to a 772m baht (£11.3m) 2003 land deal by the former prime minister's wife, Pojaman, during his first term. Mr Thaksin, who faces 10 years in jail and a 60,000 baht fine, denies the charges.

His lawyer and unofficial spokesman in Thailand, Noppodol Pattama, said Mr Thaksin was considering whether to return. A further 12 corruption allegations against Mr Thaksin are under investigation.

Mr Noppodol said that Mr Thaksin still had enough money outside the country to finance the purchase of Manchester City, but according to records of his assets filed while the prime minister, only about £200m remains unfrozen.

The roller-coaster ride in Mr Thaksin's fortunes will be a new experience for the Thai of Chinese descent. A former policeman, he won a scholarship to study criminal justice in the US, returning to Thailand to set up in business.

During the 80s he built up a telecommunications business that was boosted by cornering state monopolies. The business that became Shin Corp turned into an empire that was sold to the Singapore state investment arm, Temasek, for a staggering £950m last year.

In Manchester yesterday Alan Galley, chairman of the City supporters' club, said the deal could represent the "light at the end of the tunnel". But he added there was still a "big question mark" over what would happen if Mr Thaksin was found guilty in Thailand.

The former prime minister, however, pledged his "utmost commitment" to the club's future success and expressing a "determination to take the club back to its rightful place at the highest level of competition in both the FA Premier League and European football".

Foreign owners

· Aston Villa - Randy Lerner, owner of American football's Cleveland Browns, in £62m takeover, August 2006

· Chelsea - Russian oil billionaire Roman Abramovich, right with captain John Terry, has invested £440m since becoming owner in 2003

· Fulham - Egyptian-born businessman and Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed has completed 10 years as owner at Craven Cottage

· Liverpool - Americans George Gillett and Tom Hicks, both owners of NHL ice hockey teams, in £219m takeover at Anfield in February

· Manchester United - Malcolm Glazer, owner of Tampa Bay Buccaneers, paid £790m for the club in 2005

· Portsmouth - Alexandre Gaydamak, French businessman of Russian descent, became sole owner July 2006

· West Ham United - Icelandic consortium led by Eggert Magnusson paid £85m to take over in November 2006

Takeover targets

· Arsenal - Stalked by American billionaire Stan Kroenke, whose Sports Enterprises UK has 12.19% holding in club

· Birmingham City - Hong Kong billionaire Carson Yeung is reported to be considering a bid

· Blackburn Rovers - A US-based investment company headed by Daniel Williams, British-born businessman, putting together a £50m bid

- The Guardian (UK)

[jayjayjayjay]

A word to the wise John, you are getting a little obsessed. I disliked Mt T with a passion, but resorting to rejoicing in his ill-health is bad taste and not going to win any arguments.

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

"Ex-PM is loved and hated in equal measure "

- The Telegraph (UK)

Possibly one of the fairest, non-bias articles summarising pro and con on Thaksin over the last few months, not positive or negative, just how it is!!!

It's good to see there is still some objective journalism around.

[sriracha john]

Thais won't blow whistle on Thaksin's Man City bid

THE authorities in Thailand will not block deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's bid to buy an English Premiership football club, despite his assets being frozen while a corruption investigation continues.

Manchester City yesterday recommended its shareholders accept a £81.6 million takeover offer by Mr Thaksin, much of whose wealth has been frozen inside Thailand.

Noppadol Patama, his lawyer in Thailand, said he had been "ecstatic" at the news from England.

With Mr Thaksin battling to preserve his political and business legacy after being overthrown in a military coup last September, there has been speculation the bid is an attempt to keep a high profile while he is in exile, splitting his time between London and travel around Asia.

"I thought he just wanted to remain in the headlines. We have seen examples of businessmen who lost a lot of money in trying to improve football teams; it's not something that pays off immediately," said Tawan Daengtaptip, a football reporter at Siam Sport magazine.

"And if you know Thaksin like Thai people do, you know he is not that stupid. But now that the deal is progressing, maybe there is something more to it than we think. Maybe he is looking for a place to park his money."

In Thailand, fans' reactions to his Manchester City bid were generally positive. "I think it's great news," said Vichai Charoenkit, a street food seller in Bangkok. "He can do to Man City what he did with the mobile phone business in Thailand. And talented kids from here may be able to go there to practise, improve their tactics or even join Premier League teams."

Nattawut Saikua, of Mr Thaksin's now dissolved Thai Rak Thai Party, said he believed the new deal was not political. "He is a renowned businessman. I am sure he saw a business opportunity in the club." he said.

Government officials were chiefly concerned with how the deal would affect the freeze of his assets in Thailand and the corruption charges he faces.

Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd, of the military council that overthrew Mr Thaksin and helps run the country, said: "It's proof that the anti-graft agencies have only frozen assets that were believed to have been acquired through corrupt means. He still has a lot of money and can move around, making big business deals like this. That's his private matter. We will not interfere."

In the past two weeks, an anti-corruption panel established by the military has ordered more than £900 million of Mr Thaksin's wealth to be frozen on suspicion it was gained illicitly.

- news.scotsman.com

[sriracha john]

Man City board accepts B5.3 billion Thaksin bid

Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra won acceptance yesterday for a 81.6 million pounds (5.3 billion baht) bid for English Premiership football club Manchester City. The formal bid was made by Mr Thakdhsin's UK Sports Investments company and was backed by management at Manchester City, the boards said in a joint statement. The takeover offer came as prosecutors laid formal criminal corruption charges against him. Mr Thaksin's legal adviser Noppadon Pattama brushed off financial concerns, saying that a fund to buy the majority of the club's ownership was ''in the right place''. ''The money used for buying about 60% of the shares is from his family members ... The buyers are his family members. He may hold just a small number of shares,'' Mr Noppadon said. ''You may ask where the money is. I can say the money will be in a place where we can spend it.''

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/22Jun2007_news99.php

[sriracha john]

Thais react to Thaksin's ManCity bid

BANGKOK: Thais reacted to deposed premier Thaksin Shinawatra's bid to take over Manchester City football club today with a mix of scepticism and pride, with some seeing it as a ploy to restore his popularity at home.

The English Premier League club accepted Thaksin's STG81.6 million ($A192.5 million) offer in London yesterday, which came hours after Thai prosecutors laid formal criminal corruption charges against him.

Since last year's coup, the self-made billionaire has remained in exile and currently lives in London.

The Man City deal was blazed across front pages of Thai papers today, but public relations consultant Narongchai Sampakdee said it was typical ploy of Thaksin's to distract attention from the corruption allegations.

"The purchase of the English Premier League Club is just a tactic for Thaksin to improve his image," said Narongchai.

"Don't even hope that this deal can benefit the Thai people."

Even in Thaksin's hometown Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand, Noi, a 48-year-old housewife, said people wondered whether Thaksin's takeover money might be tainted.

"Thaksin is a genius and has a lot of money. But many people are sceptical whether his money is clean or not," said Noi.

She said Thaksin should invest money in Thailand instead of buying the English club.

The kingdom's economy has slowed down due to a slump in consumer confidence and ongoing political uncertainty.

The Thai junta justified the coup by saying Thaksin was corrupt and it would probe abuse during his five years in office.

Last week, a powerful anti-graft panel froze on some 52.9 billion baht ($A1.8 billion) of funds belonging to Thaksin and his family as part of the junta's investigations.

Sontahaya Klaitook, a 36-year-old businessman in the southern paradise island of Phuket, welcomed Thaksin's takeover.

"If Thaksin can bring Thai players to English football teams after the takeover, it's good for Thailand," Sontahaya said. But he said the proposed purchase of Manchester City was "politically motivated" for Thaksin "to regain his popularity".

In Bangkok, Poonvit Phuwarang, a 25-year-old engineer, said he supported Thaksin's deal. "It is great for Thai football players. They may have a chance to play in English teams," said Poonvit.

Norasak Singhasenee, a 21-year-old student, agreed. "It's cool to have a Thai businessman own an overseas football club," he said. "The deal will help people abroad know about Thailand," Norasak said.

- Brisbane Times

[sriracha john]

Headline of the day...

MY SVEN WILL KO FERGIE

Thaksin Shinawatra is all over the papers this morning, with his takeover of Man City seemingly near to completion. He's ready to make them an even more massive club, it would seem, and he says in The Sun that £50m plus Sven Goran Eriksson will make City the best club in Manchester.

- 4thegame.com

[sriracha john]

Thaksin: Freeze won't affect Man City deal

Says he took cash out of Thailand 'a long time ago with permission'

Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra assured Manchester City fans the freeze on his assets would not affect his deal for the football club's takeover, saying the funds he had set aside to buy the club had the blessing of the Thai authorities.

"Don't worry: the money that we plan to use to work with Manchester City I got permission to bring from Thailand a long time ago," Thaksin said in an interview with the Manchester Evening News website.

"Bringing that money out of Thailand had been planned several months before this thing happened. In addition, I have friends all over the world I can ask for credit from until I get the justice system to unfreeze my money."

A total of Bt57.8 billion of his and his family's assets in Thailand was frozen by orders of the Assets Examination Committee on June 11.

In his latest assets declaration on November 14 to the National Counter Corruption Commission, Thaksin reported his bank accounts held Bt509 million. His wife, Pojaman, reported her bank accounts held Bt3.48 billion.

But while City fans were relieved the club would now be able to move on after weeks of delay in takeover talks, many remain concerned that the new owner's troubles in his home country may disrupt the club.

Thaksin said: "Please tell the fans that the events in Thailand are not happening in a democratic way. I was a democratically elected leader ousted by a military dictator. Now everything in Thailand is under a military dictatorship. It will be back to normal when democracy returns to Thailand in December. I hope that justice will prevail after that, but everything they do is politically motivated.

"The money I have is money that the whole family earned over more than 20 years by working hard. They said that I have made that money through corruption. That is ridiculous."

The exiled leader is facing a corruption probe and allegations of human-rights abuse in Thailand, where as prime minister he initiated a war on drugs in which 2,500 people died.

He insists he is innocent of charges laid against him by political opponents among the current military leadership and is confident he will eventually be cleared.

Thaksin, who fled to Britain last year after being deposed in a military coup, had his Bt5.6-billion offer for the English club accepted on Thursday.

This came hours after prosecutors in Thailand laid formal criminal-corruption charges against him on the Ratchadaphisek land deal in 2003.

Thaksin told Sky Sports television he had to pass the test of being a "fit and proper person" to own a club organised by the Premier League, which runs English football's top division.

"I passed a test in the taking-over process," he said.

"I had gone through so many questions. I think this is a very good system that I really like, even if I had to go through such a long process."

"It should have been finished two or three weeks ago, but I still like the system," he told the broadcaster.

Thaksin said he wanted City fans to call him "Mr Sinatra", a corrupted version of his surname, because it would be easier for them to pronounce than "Shinawatra".

"I understand people have difficulty pronouncing my surname. So just call me Sinatra," Thaksin told the British media. "They [the City fans] can shout 'Sinatra' to call me at the stadium. I don't care as long as they treat me as one of them," he said.

According to the Manchester Evening News Thaksin, 57, a former policeman who made his fortune in telecommunications, became the first foreign owner in City's 127-year history as he completed the takeover yesterday.

Thaksin, who first became interested in buying City last December, admitted the process had taken longer than even he had expected.

But having acquired 55 per cent of the club's shares, a figure he expects to rise to 75 per cent during the next month, he is now concentrating his energies on making Sven-Goran Eriksson City's next manager.

He confirmed that he and his advisers had been in talks with former England coach Eriksson but that no final decision had been reached.

If he accepts, it will make Eriksson the highest-paid boss in City's history on an annual salary of 2m pounds. However, Blackburn boss Mark Hughes and Sevilla's Juan de Ramos remain on the short list if he turns the Blues down.

Thaksin is expected to spend up to 50m pounds on new players. He added: "If necessary it may cost 50m pounds, it may cost 30m pounds or it may cost 20m pounds. I will leave recruitment to my advisers, but I know we need two strikers, two midfielders and maybe some others.

"When you want effectiveness you drive for the target, and that is my style; strong leadership, not dictatorship."

Thaksin followed City's fortunes closely on television last season but said he would attend every game in person next season if he remained in the United Kingdom.

"If I stay in the UK, I will attend every match," he said. "If not, I will attend every game I can. I think we have the room to improve the club, because we can bring in a new coach and new players. They have a good team, and we can add more strikers and midfielders to create a better team."

He added: "The club's lease on the City of Manchester Stadium is for 250 years. I said I will do the contract extension myself in the next life!"

- The Nation

[marshbags]

This for me sums up not only Man. City but the consistant unprincipled approach to the football authorities and their unquestionable greed for the one and only criteria needed to become acceptable within the so called " establishment ".

Taken from The Independent & The Independent on Sunday

From url :- http://sport.independent.co.uk/football/co...icle2692259.ece

Quote

23 June 2007 07:08 Home > Sport > Football >

Comment by James Lawton:

Thaksin takeover shows a game blinded by the colour of money

You might imagine the new chairman of Manchester City is a suitable case for resounding rejection by the the quaintly named arm of the Premier League known as the Fit and Proper Persons Test.

You might think the antecedents of Thaksin Shinawatra would provoke the full majesty of an instrument that sounds as though it was made to sift out candidates who do not perhaps carry all the right credentials for ownership of a club which, for all the despair and the angst it has generated over the years, is still one of the most beloved in the land.

But then you will probably have to think again. Why? Because Thaksin, the former prime minister of Thailand who has been accused of corruption by the military government that succeeded him and has been regularly in the sights of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, and who has just had more than £1bn frozen in 21 banks, has proved himself eminently capable of command to the hierarchy of City and enough of the club's shareholders.

He has passed the Premiership's only consistently working litmus test. He has quite enough money squirrelled away despite the bank raids - and who cares about the past? Certainly not the man whose first gift to the City fans is expected to be the appointment of Sven Goran Eriksson.

Thaksin and Eriksson? No wonder there is talk of riot on the streets of Manchester. It doesn't sound so much like a partnership as a condition. Eriksson was something in European club football no doubt, picking up trophies in Sweden, Portugal and Italy, but for five years he scandalised all those who thought him a sensible choice to lead England.

He chased skirts and avenues of imperfectly perceived advancement in what appeared to be a random fever and all the time the England team, when it truly mattered, went from bad to worse. Now it seems he may be foisted on the long-suffering City fan. It is as cruel as it is perverse, but then it does illustrate well enough the reality behind the Fit and Proper Persons Test.

The proper person, we know well enough now, can be someone like Thaksin. He has the supreme virtue of carrying more than enough of the folding stuff. It is, apparently, the ultimate requirement in an examination which is not so much a moral probe as a financial checklist. Human rights and business practice are simply not part of the equation. Have you or one of your companies suffered bankruptcy in this country? No, well fine, march on. Give us your huddled masses of money.

The "test" postdates Roman Abramovich's arrival at Chelsea and did little to investigate the wealth accumulated by the French-based Alexandre Gaydamak, owner of Portsmouth. No matter that the latter's father, Arcadi, a Russian-Israeli businessman, fled France in the face of accusations of illegal arms dealing and tax evasion. Alexandre, we are told, is a business magnate in his own right. So that's all right.

Roll up, roll up, the Premiership will take your money and leave the agonising to more gentle souls, who might just wonder how it was that Abramovich was a man of fabulous wealth in his mid-thirties in a society where professors and eminent doctors can go months without being paid? He won himself so many of the mineral rights of the people who authored the October Revolution.

Naturally, the selling owner of Chelsea, Ken Bates, didn't thrash out the moral imperatives of the man who was about to pay off the club's debts and so substantially augment his own wealth.

Premiership football doesn't work like that. It doesn't worry about the origins of wealth; it just counts the money.

The guardians of City over the last few ill-starred years, the chairman John Wardle and director and chief executive Alistair MacIntosh, plainly have no reservations about the Thaksin takeover. They are so convinced of its virtue they have decided to stay on and enjoy the years of projected plenty, Wardle merely stepping down to vice-chairman, MacIntosh retaining his role as operating chief of a club which had become such an embarrassing inheritor of a tradition which, while always error-prone, had the glory of both a warm past and the eternal potential provided by some of the most loyal and passionate fans in the land.

Inevitably, there now must be a sense of working amorality that is quite stunning. Thaksin may have a dubious past, he may be persona non grata in his own country, but he brings the promise of success, of wealth that will make City contenders again. It is the simplest equation: money makes success, money swamps guilt.

When the American Glazer family took over Manchester United there was outrage enough. Fans went to the streets, after a fashion, in their rage that football's most romantic club was in danger of asset- stripping, had been inflicted with huge debt and had had its entire future imperilled.

Reality has been somewhat different, of course. The Glazers, while certainly not delighting fans with a 14 per cent ticket hike, have been exemplary owners, backing their manager Sir Alex Ferguson with a generous budget and, unlike the case of Abramovich, studiously avoiding even a hint of undermining the man in charge of football affairs.

The Glazers know about the dynamics of professional sport and proved it when their acquisition, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, won a Super Bowl. They know the value of a tough and winning coach. They are businessmen and what they did to United was something so many tried to do, including Robert Maxwell and Rupert Murdoch, and which became inevitable the moment the club declared itself a plc.

So what's the difference between the Glazers and Thaksin? Only that the Glazers take their investment money from the banks while Thaksin is accused of gaining the same facility directly from the people of Thailand.

It takes us to the ultimate question. Will the City fans care how their new wealth and power were gained any more than the denizens of Stamford Bridge when mega-signings like Michael Essien and Didier Drogba put on some unanswerable show of power? Did Pompey supporters fret over the background of their owner when they pushed for the once fantasy ambition of European football?

There are no prizes for the correct answers to such leading questions. They produce only sighs of recognition that football has rarely had a more poignant example of the degree the game has changed than in the annexation of a club which, even more than the late-charging United, was so rooted in the streets of its city.

For many years there was nostalgic regret enough when the action shifted from Maine Road, the theatre of the young Matt Busby, Peter Doherty, Don Revie, Roy Paul, Mike Summerbee, Francis Lee and Colin Bell, to the splendid new City of Manchester Stadium.

But that was merely a journey across town. What happened yesterday took City into another world, one ungoverned by anything less flimsy than the Fit and Proper Persons Test. One, indeed, where only one rule applies. Do you have the money, can we see and feel it. Yes? Well, come on down. What, anyway, does Amnesty International have to do with the grand old game?

Unquote

As for anyone who is familiar with the goings on regarding Thaksin and his now banned party who seem to be ignoring this important situation and seemingly condoning the take over....

Shame on you all because you do know his history and how he acquired his so called war chest and incidently if the " premier league " check out as and when he transferred his illgotten gains into the U.K. i feel sure they will find he is lying when he says it was here long before his political demise.

marshbags

P.S

If i may part quote from S.J,s last post with his permission:-

"Don't worry: the money that we plan to use to work with Manchester City I got permission to bring from Thailand a long time ago," Thaksin said in an interview with the Manchester Evening News website.

"Bringing that money out of Thailand had been planned several months before this thing happened. In addition, I have friends all over the world I can ask for credit from until I get the justice system to unfreeze my money."

I,ll bet it was Toxin and we should / are all be aware of the creditability of many of your so called friends and how they also acquired their wealth and at who,s cost.

Edited June 23, 2007 by marshbags

[swindonabroad]

A quite funny 'quiz' to see if Thaksin is 'fit and proper'.

http://blogs.guardian.co.uk/sport/2007/06/...oper_perso.html

Have a look!

[sriracha john]

Looks like Thakky will be facing a REAL quiz, despite him saying in his interview that he's already been cleared...

FA quiz Thaksin on takeover

Thaksin Shinawatra is to be called in by the Football Association to explain his plans for Manchester City and be warned about his responsibilities to the English game.

The football authorities are concerned about a series of allegations relating to the former Thai Prime Minister's business activities which could lead to his conviction in his home country.

He has already had £1.1 billion of his assets frozen by prosecutors in Thailand, although representatives of Shinawatra said his £81.6 million offer for Manchester City, announced on Thursday, will not be affected.

He is understood to have placed £150 million in a British bank account some weeks ago to complete the deal, cover £60 million of debts and provide funds to hire a new manager and buy new players.

The Premiership's "fit and proper person" regulations ban individuals from becoming directors of clubs if they have convictions for a series of white-collar crimes, including fraud and tax evasion.

Despite the English game's ruling bodies apparent lack of power to intervene in the deal, the FA chief executive Brian Barwick is expected to meet with Thaksin after he completes his takeover bid.

It is understood the idea of a meeting was first put to Thaksin by the FA's head of corporate affairs, Simon Johnson, when they met at England's friendly international against Brazil at Wembley on June 1.

Yesterday a spokesman for the FA confirmed Barwick would be seeking more formal talks with the Thai billionaire and added that he would be looking to impress upon him the responsibility that comes with owning a big Premiership club.

An FA spokesman said: "Barwick has made a point of meeting with several of the foreign businessmen who have bought into English clubs over the last couple of years. The purpose of the meetings is to make them aware of the traditions of those clubs and their importance to their fans and local communities. He will be looking to do the same with Thaksin Shinawatra."

Barwick held talks with Malcolm Glazer's sons Joel and Bryan after the secretive American family completed their £800 million acquisition of City's rivals Manchester United two years ago.

The FA said Barwick had also met with Aston Villa owner Randy Lerner and Liverpool's joint chairmen Tom Hicks and George Gillett after they took control.

But with so much controversy surrounding the Thaksin deal, the FA know they are under pressure to protect the image of the game as more clubs are snapped up by super rich foreign businessmen.

Thaksin was being kept waiting by Sven-Goran Eriksson last night as he weighed up the Thai's £3 million-a-year offer.

The former England manager has been promised £2 million annual salary plus up to £1 million a year in bonuses and a £50 million kitty for new players.

Sources close to the Swede said he was still considering whether he was ready to jump back into the intense glare of the English game after the disappointment of last year's World Cup.

But it is looking likely that he will take the opportunity at City, as his £500,000 compensation settlement with the FA ends on June 30.

With three other managers on City's shortlist, including Sevilla's Juande Ramos and Blackburn's Mark Hughes, Eriksson was urged not to take too long over his decision by Thaksin's financial adviser Keith Harris.

Harris, executive chairman of Seymour Pierce Investment Bank, who is brokering the deal for Thaksin, said: "It is for Sven to look at the opportunities. I think with some certainty a decision will be made next week."

- The Telegraph (UK)

[Ned]

I've got a hunch that Man City fans in Thailand are going to be disappointed. Not because the team won't be a success but by the junta who will not allow Man City games to be broadcast. You wait and see.

[sriracha john]

Probably both of the 2 fans here will be outraged.

[tijnebijn]

I've got a hunch that Man City fans in Thailand are going to be disappointed. Not because the team won't be a success but by the junta who will not allow Man City games to be broadcast. You wait and see.

Will not surprise anyone again does it ? It is a never ending story .

[chuchok]

Probably both of the 2 fans here will be outraged.

Well if they block City playing either Chelski or Manu,then there might be more than just a handfull of fans po'ed.

[Plus]

All combined Thaksin's wealth (legal) is less than what he wants to pay for Man City, I bet AEC is anxiously waiting to see where he stuffed his money now and charge him with lying on asset declarations.

I bet they collect all his statements to the media regarding origins of these funds - back in 2000 the courts accepted video recording of a TV program where Thaksin bragged about buying golf resort that he later forgot to include in his asset statements. The court let him go after "honest mistake" plea that won't work again.

Five year old political ban for undeclaring assets is nothing to possible criminal charges for corruption if these funds are connected to Shin Corp - they have at least two charges ready - Exim bank loan to Burma and Excise tax reduction.

If Thaksin is legally linked to Shin Corp money - he's stuffed.

Man City are up for the ride of their lives, they'd better enjoy it while it lasts.

[kmart]

Its great to see that the city of Manchester is finally bringing in someone with a proven track record of being tough on drugs, though.

[sriracha john]

Does a fit and proper person only need to have bootfuls of money?

If Thaksin Shinawatra's motive in buying Manchester City is to make himself well-known in the West, then he is already past the post.

His name is rolling off northern tongues, his smile is beaming from the back pages and his immoderate fortune is at the service of the team in blue.

Why, if the Premiership is looking for a 'fit and proper person' to own one of its highly desirable football clubs, then none could be fitter or more proper than our Thaksin. Or so he would have us believe.

Yet Amnesty International, the human rights organisation, see the beaming philanthropist in a rather different light.They are unconcerned about his football ambitions.

Instead, they focus upon his conduct as Prime Minister of Thailand, from his election in January 2001 to his overthrow in September last year.

Sarah Green, an Amnesty spokesperson, told me: "During his premiership, Shinawatra showed a disregard for human rights. In the south of the country, which has a predominantly Muslim population, State security forces acted far beyond the rules. Around 2,300 people were killed in three years, there were arrests without trial, disappearances and many instances of torture.

"The police and military knew they could get away with it because they knew they would not be investigated. And Shinawatra passed an emergency decree which accelerated this situation.

"Violence in Thailand intensified during his administration and he took decisions which inflamed it. A lot of deaths would not have happened had government policy been different.

"In the war on drugs in 2003 the government wanted to be seen to crack down. More than 2,600 people were killed in a three-month period. The government claimed that these were the traffickers killing each other, but Amnesty has evidence of police executions.

"The police behaved like that because they knew they would not be investigated. Shinawatra presided over this policy. There are more than 900 people on Death Row in Thailand for a wide range of offences. They have been on Death Row for years, in appalling conditions. There have been no executions for the past couple of years, but people are still regularly sentenced to death in a form of psychological torture.

"The State has been behaving far beyond its just powers. And much of this was under Shinawatra.

Now, there are certain owners of Premiership clubs whose company I do not covet. Yet there is none, so far as I know, whose human rights record has earned Amnesty's withering censure.

But this aspect of Shinawatra's takeover has scarcely merited mention. Instead, he has presented himself as the saviour of a club on hard times, a man whose immense wealth will transform its fortunes.

Indeed, he calls City 'a sleeping giant', a phrase so hackneyed that it ought to debar him from any connection with our game.

As for that wealth, it must truly be immense, since he appears to have spent around £82million on buying City, despite having had some £1.3 billon of his assets frozen by the military government in Thailand.

Still, the allegation of that government that his wealth was corruptly acquired seems not to worry his British adviser, Keith Harris, executive chairman of Seymour Pierce Investment Bank, who says: "These charges are being prosecuted by an unelected political regime ... we all know they are politically motivated."

Which is clearly not an accusation one could throw at his chum Thaksin.

As for the City fans, well, for the most part they have behaved roughly as Shinawatra surely suspected. They argue about the likely manager, speculate about the players who must be bought, give thanks for this unexpected windfall ...and pass over the allegations about his human rights record as a matter of small consequence.

They would be amazed if Amnesty's description of his actions in government were to prevent him taking over one of our major football clubs. They would be shocked if the people who run the Premiership were to consider him unacceptable as an owner.

Instead, they fully expect him to be deemed a 'fit and proper person'.

And so, depressingly, do I.

I remember going to City's old ground at Maine Road some years ago, at a time when the unpopular chairman, Peter Swales, was hanging on until he could sell the club for a scarcely imaginable £7 million.

They warned me about crowd congestion before I arrived: "There'll be two queues. Don't join the long one — that's for the chip shop. Then they spent the rest of the afternoon chanting; 'Swales Out!'.

It was City's unofficial theme song. I doubt that Thaksin Shinawatra would have been attracted to that eccentric, homely football club, and I doubt that they would have welcomed him. But times have changed.

Today, Manchester City closes its eyes, crosses its fingers and welcomes anybody with deep pockets. Provided, of course, that he is a fit and proper person.

- The Daily Mail (UK)

[sriracha john]

Fit and proper person?: Thaksin has a shady past.

The Daily Mail

Nothing can stand in the way of money

Everest is scaled, the moon bears human footprints, but humanity still can't find anyone to fail the fit and proper persons test for owning a Premier League club.

Surely there is some intrepid despot, some reptilian swindler out there who can take this vacant title? But he'll have to go some.

Thaksin Shinawatra's takeover of Manchester City may yet be stopped by the financial stonelifters but a decent guess is that the ghosts of the 78 protestors who died allegedly in police custody on his watch or the 19 civil liberties activists still missing back in Thailand will not be allowed to stand between City and what they crave; the power to transfer vast amounts of money to players and agents so they can kid themselves they are competing with Manchester United.

Could it just be that Thaksin bought an English club solely to liberate his money from the control of the military leaders who ousted him in a coup? Or the prosecutors who want to see him back in Bangkok to answer charges of corruption?

Over the past 24 hours there has been a regrettable pre-occupation with the financial ramifications of his family's $1.9 billion profit from the sale of the Shin Corp telecoms empire to overseas investors. What this does, of course, is divert attention from the human rights abuses

that Amnesty International and others allege were endemic during his reign.

For City fans there is the enticing possibility that their new owner will simply send the boys round to Old Trafford and have done with it.

Detention without trial might be his only way of subduing Sir Alex Ferguson.

For two seasons now we have been approaching the tipping point where dawn raids by people with absolutely no affinity for the lumps of meat they are buying pass from being questionable to downright scandalous. The Manchester City deal takes us across that line.

The Premiership is the league of easy virtue. And what's intolerable is the lie that only good can flow from our top division turning itself into the planet's bubblegum TV while this country churns out players who can't get past quarter-finals and penalty shoot-outs in international tournaments.

If you want to know where all this is taking us, the answer is £72,000 a week for Scott Parker and a £17 million bid for Darren Bent from West Ham, who have turned from being everyone's favourite shop to a club who grossly overpay for everyone else's produce.

There must be some mountain top where we can escape the mantra that all money is good, no matter where it comes from.

People speak highly of Liverpool's two new owners, but does anyone think Anfield is a more stable or harmonious place as an American corporate culture clashes with the old Merseyside tradition?

These first-date gropings pale beside Thaksin's attempt to impose Claudio Ranieri on City and his flirtation with Sven Goran Eriksson before he had even bought the club.

One of City's most famous followers, boxer Ricky Hatton, provided a masterclass in damning with faint praise when he said of Eriksson in Las Vegas yesterday: "Wherever he's managed he's done releatively well."

A PR shrewdie, the former Thai PM sent Hatton a goodwill text ahead of tonight's fight.

While we're thundering away on City's delusion that selling themselves to the first bloke who came along was the only way to avoid relegation (what about Reading, what about Bolton Wanderers?), this is a good moment to point out that they occupy a stadium built largely with public money to host the Commonwealth Games.

If memory serves, this was not the kind of "legacy" Manchester spoke of when they built so many fine sporting facilities.

But as our own Prime Minister lectured us the other day: "You're in a market and that's the way it is."

If Hannibal Lecter bought Birmingham City, say, the punters would presumably rejoice and the watchdogs would slink back to their kennels while old Hannibal washed down the centre-forward's liver with a nice drop of Chianti.

A while back, the Premier League talked me through the "stringent" tests to stop undesirables buying up their clubs. The checks were quite impressive. But you end up doubting the power of the vetting process to stop shady buyers using more respectable third parties as a front, or when the kind of abuses Thaksin may be guilty of fall outside the parameters of the test.

The truth is that modern football's first wave of investors — Doug Ellis, Freddy Shepherd, David Moores, Martin Edwards — are cashing in their chips and the future is a town where pretty much anything goes so long as the Premiership can maintain its manic drive into Far East and other far-flung markets.

- The Daily Mail (UK)

[sriracha john]

Thai with a turbulent past

THE REAL affair between Thaksin Shinawatra and football began after he met another billionaire politician with a big stake in the sport – Silvio Berlusconi.

The self-made Thai, 57, is a former policeman of Chinese ancestry who converted a mobile phone monopoly into a family-run conglomerate, Shin Corporation, that dominated the Thai stockmarket and bankrolled his rise to power as a populist “friend of the poor”.

Berlusconi is a one-time cruise-ship crooner whose fortune began in Milanese property, funded his revolution in Italian private television and then paid for his political party, Forza Italia, which won him two terms as prime minister.

Thaksin and Berlusconi both became their country’s richest men. They were fluent, combative, quick to trounce their critics with verbal abuse. Accusations of corruption swirled about them and they employed legions of lawyers in baffling court cases.

Berlusconi, in due course, was thrown out by the electorate and Thaksin was ousted last year in a military coup. The ownership of AC Milan was central to the creation of Berlusconi’s persona as an Italian success story. Thailand had no such trophy.

It was also a country deeply divided between old and new, rural and urban, rich and poor; never formally colonised, suffused with Buddhism and reverence for King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the longest-reigning constitutional monarch in the world. In 1998 Thaksin decided to challenge all that. He launched a political career, using his money to create an ideology-free party called Thais Love Thais and winning a decisive election victory in 2001. Later he would complain that corruption is ingrained in the Thai system, but when he got into power the accusations flew thick and fast. In 2000 the National Counter-Corruption Commission accused him of concealing his assets by placing shares worth £50m in the names of his chauffeur, butler and maid. Seven months later he became prime minister, the constitutional court clearing him by eight votes to seven.

In 2003 Thaksin declared a “war on drugs”. His former colleagues in the police took him literally. More than 2,500 people were shot dead by men in plain clothes over the months that followed. Thaksin blandly announced that most of the dead were drug dealers who had been killed resisting arrest. Not one important drugs baron was put out of business. Meanwhile the government trumpeted a “social order” campaign to save Thai morals. It sent the police to round up foreigners in nightclubs and test them for drugs, then implemented a 10pm curfew for all under-18's to “help them keep their virginity”.

Such stunts brought fears that Thailand was becoming a dictatorship. Yet Thaksin remained wildly popular among poor rural Thais, grateful for state handouts and cheap healthcare, who gave him a landslide second election victory in February 2005. As his troubles mounted in 2004, Thaksin led a Thai consortium that tried to buy 30% of Liverpool. It was another publicity stunt and never much more than a long shot.

The bid played well at home, but Thaksin’s touch for the public mood deserted him when the family sold Shin Corp for £1 billion to Temasek, the investment arm of the Singapore government, setting off a surge of patriotic indignation, leading to mass demonstrations in Bangkok and last year’s bloodless coup. From exile in London’s Kensington, Thaksin has sounded magnanimous and reasonable. But after months of dithering, the military-appointed government has moved to freeze his assets. They may be too late. As the claims of conflict of interest intensified, Thaksin handed over shareholdings and executive positions to his jewellery-festooned wife, his son and his daughter. Last week Thailand’s attorney-general filed the first criminal charges against the former premier and his wife in a corruption case over a land deal. Separately, investigators issued a summons to the couple to return home to answer charges of concealing shareholdings – unlikely, since the general who led the coup has already warned Thaksin that his life would be at risk.

Thaksin’s wife and other members of the extended family are already facing trial on charges of tax evasion.

- The Sunday Times (UK)

[Mobi]

Just been listening on BBC Radio 5 to a live interview between Gary Richardson and the head of Seymore Pierce, the company that has broked the deal between Thaksin and Man City.

Main points:

Thaksin will only part with 22Million in Cash for the purchase of the shares in Man City.

In buying the club, Thaksin will assume the club's debts of some 60 Million, which is where the figure of 82 million comes from. These debts will stay on the books indefinitely, indeed 44 million of it is in long term debentures and do not have to be redeemed any time soon.

The money supposedly available for the purchase of new players is just a promise. It remains to be seen if the promise is translated into reality.

Richardson referred to a previous interview Thaksin gave to Radio 5, earlier in the week in which Thaksin said: quote, "if I can't get hold of enough money I can borrow from my friends" unquote. The guy from the broker did a quick "ahem... er yes.. er.. that was a 'slip of the tongue' - er.. what Thaksin meant to say, was that in the future he hoped to attract commercial sponsors from amongst the Football mad companies in the Far east...."

So to summarise - Thaksin will come up with 22 Million, not 82 Million, and he has already hinted that he may need to borrow any further funds - maybe from his mates at CP and Grammy?

Man City fans - I feel for you. I am a Spurs supporter, and I died a thousand deaths in the days when Alan Sugar and Terry Venables were suing each other in court - but all that will pale into insignificance in comparison with what lies ahead for Man City and their dealings with this arrogant, deceitful and ruthless animal who is using the club as a politicfal pawn and for his own self aggrandisement.

[sriracha john]

Thailand to probe Thaksin's "mystery" Man City funds

SINGAPORE - Thai officials will investigate the source of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra's funds if he succeeds in buying Manchester City, Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn said here Sunday.

Chalongphob told journalists on the sidelines of an East Asian economic forum in Singapore that Thaksin, who already faces corruption charges in Bangkok, had declared no overseas assets when he was in power.

The minister said the funding for the 162.6 million-dollar bid for the English Premier League football club was a "mystery" to Thailand.

"I'm sure that the Assets Examination Committee will look at the source of his funds and will try to see whether they are legal funds that were taken out, or other means ...," said the Thai minister.

He said "it's difficult to trace all these movements" of funds by the former leader, a self-made billionaire who currently lives in London after being ousted by a military coup last September.

A powerful anti-graft panel has frozen 1.52 billion dollars of domestic funds belonging to Thaksin and his family as part of investigations.

Chalongphob repeatedly maintained Sunday that the military-backed government does not interfere in the judicial system and said Thaksin would receive protection if he returned to face charges in Bangkok.

"If he comes back, they will have to provide protection for sure," said the minister, who was attending a meeting of government officials, corporate leaders and experts under the auspices of the World Economic Forum.

If Thaksin is found guilty on criminal charges, he could be extradited to Thailand on the basis of bilateral agreements with some countries, Chalongphob added.

Manchester City accepted Thaksin's takeover bid in London Thursday, hours after Thai prosecutors laid formal criminal corruption charges against the former leader.

The formal bid for the Blues was made by Thaksin's UK Sports Investments company and backed by management at Manchester City.

Although Thaksin has won over the board, he must still gain the backing of other shareholders and pass a standard "fit and proper person" test. This is carried out by the Premier League, which runs the Premiership.

- AFP

Edited June 24, 2007 by sriracha john

[sriracha john]

Thaksin's Man City money is clean, says chief broker

LONDON - Funds being used by the ousted Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra to buy Manchester City are clean, according to the man who is brokering the deal.

Thai Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn had claimed Sunday that Thai officials are set to investigate the source of Thaksin's funds if he succeeds in buying the English Premiership club.

Chalongphob told journalists on the sidelines of an East Asian economic forum in Singapore that Thaksin, who already faces corruption charges in Bangkok, had declared no overseas assets when he was in power.

However Keith Harris, executive chairman of Seymour Pierce Investment Bank and the man who is brokering the deal, told BBC Five Live's Sportsweek programme on Sunday: "The money to buy Man City is clean.

"It has been legitimately and transparently transferred to the UK."

Thaksin lodged a formal offer for City on June 21, but back in Thailand he is facing corruption charges over a property deal and has had 830 million dollars of his assets frozen.

- AFP

=========================================

The missing sentence from Mr. Harris: "We've busy laundering it for weeks, just so that the money appears clean and looks legitimate."

Edited June 24, 2007 by sriracha john

[sriracha john]

Controversial: Thaksin Shinawatra is set to takeover Manchester City

Telegraph

City takeover could lead to review

The Government is to look at ways of strengthening English football's powers to regulate foreign ownership of clubs after the game's authorities asked ministers for help in monitoring the recent frenzy of overseas takeovers.

With Manchester City set to become the sixth Premiership club to fall into foreign hands, Premier League officials have requested more support from Government to investigate the backgrounds of prospective owners.

Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire leading an £81.6 million takeover of City, is facing a series of damaging allegations about his business dealings in Thailand as well as criticism over his human rights record when he was that country's prime minister. Although the League have a fit and proper person test, it is likely that Thaksin would pass this as he is yet to be convicted of a criminal offence.

Thaksin claims that the allegations, which centre on the sale of his telecoms company Shin Corp and a land deal involving his wife in 2003, are part of a campaign to discredit him by a military government who ousted him in a bloodless coup last September.

With Birmingham, Blackburn and Arsenal also at the centre of takeover speculation involving super-rich foreign businessmen, the League are anxious to strengthen their links with Government departments and agencies with access to information which could help them to explore the backgrounds of new owners.

Ministers have agreed to look into the request and will set up talks with the Premier League, as well as the Football Association and the Football League, to see how they can strengthen those ties.

Sports minister Richard Caborn is expected to announce the talks in response to a parliamentary question on the game's governance in the House of Commons this afternoon.

A Whitehall source said: "The Premier League are not asking for us to pass new laws on foreign ownership. They just want to know how we can help them improve their regulation in this area and to investigate some of these prospective owners' backgrounds."

With Thaksin expected to tighten his grip on Manchester City this week with the purchase of Sky's 9.9 per cent stake in the club, the Thai's financial adviser, Keith Harris, took to the airwaves again yesterday to defend his reputation.

"The money to buy Man City is clean," he told BBC Radio Five's Sportsweek programme. "It has been legitimately and transparently transferred to the UK. A number of his bank accounts have been frozen. Some of them are personal and some corporate.

"But the money used to finance the takeover and used to invest in the club is in bank accounts in England and beyond their [the Thai government's] reach."

Harris, the chairman of investment bank Seymour Pierce, went on to add that there was a "fair chance" of the former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson becoming City's next manager. Eriksson is due to fly to London from Sweden today for a meeting with Thaksin and his advisers.

Sources close to the Swede said it was now extremely likely that he would accept the job offer, worth up to £3 million a year. "There is a fair chance that Eriksson will take the job," Harris said.

"Manchester City want to attract a high quality manager who can in turn attract high quality players. Sven-Goran Eriksson is on the list of candidates but we don't know if he will accept, so it behoves anyone to think of alternatives."

If Eriksson does turn the offer down, then Thaksin will turn his attention to Sevilla's Juande Ramos or Blackburn manager Mark Hughes.

- Telegraph (UK)