AEC Freezes Thaksin's Assets, Proceeds From Shin Corp Sale

[Bill97]

The government is saying that the money is still in Thailand but have given no evidence to support that. Too much motivation to get it out and too many easy ways to do it without a bank transfer. I will be surprised if they find much of it.

[sriracha john]

I see Chaturon has learned well from his Master...

Lie, until confronted with contradicting proof, then rephrase or blabber on... or as a last resort, just say it was an "honest mistake"

TRT Group leader says Thaksin assets illegally frozen

BANGKOK - Monday's decision by Thailand's Assets Examination Committee (AEC) to freeze the local assets of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife is unlawful and violates the rights of the holders of the assets, Chaturon Chaisang, leader of Thai Rak Thai Group, formerly Thai Rak Thai Party, charged on Wednesday.

The new Thai Rak Thai leader said that the freeze of the assets of Mr. Thaksin, who now lives in self-imposed exile overseas, showed the true colours of those who had seized power on dealing with certain individuals and groups, said Mr. Chaturon, referring euphemistically to persons and organisations which could be charged or implicated along with the discredited former prime minister.

The AEC used its power excessively and violated the rights of the asset holders when the authorities probed the allegedly unlawful activities committed by the deposed prime minister, he said, adding that the focus of the probes was unlawful because most of the assets actually belonged to other people, not to Mr. Thaksin himself.

Mr. Chaturon said he did not meet Mr. Thaksin during his recent visit to Hong Kong and that he planned to visit the former premier after forming a new political party if Mr. Thaksin still lives overseas.

TRT leader Chaturon said Mr. Thaksin repeatedly affirmed his intentions to return home to Thailand after the general election in December, but he may come back earlier if the AEC or prosecutors require his presence at the graft charge hearings.

Mr. Chaturon said he believed the current pro-Thaksin demonstration will be held peacefully, but also said that he had not spoken with any former members of the Thai Rak Thai party who are participating the rally.

- MCOT

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

Chaturon just 'bumped into Thaksin'

Former acting leader of the disbanded Thai Rak Thai party leader Chaturon Chaisaeng said Wednesday his visit to Hong Kong was not aimed at meeting with former party leader and ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra. Mr Chaturon said he travelled to Hong Kong on a family trip and that he only accidentally ran into Mr Thaksin there. He refused to comment on Mr Thaksin's possible early return to Thailand, but said Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont and Council for National Security have no right to prevent him from coming back.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/b...s.php?id=119419

Edited June 13, 2007 by sriracha john

[CNXagent]

Only accidentally ran into Mr Thaksin in Hong Kong indeed.........

What is Chaturon trying to prove? Or who to fool?

[sriracha john]

Eight billion baht more goes missing

Bank accounts hold only Bt43 bn after rush of withdrawals last week

More than Bt8 billion was withdrawn from six accounts in Thai-land held by former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, his family and relatives a week before the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) ordered the freezing of the accounts.

A report from the Bank of Thailand (BOT) said that between June 4 and 11, more than Bt8 billion was withdrawn from six of the 21 accounts, leaving a combined balance of around Bt43 billion.

The account from which most of the money - Bt5.6 billion - was withdrawn is in the name of Thaksin's brother-in-law Bhanapot Damapong.

The AEC found on June 4 about Bt20 billion had been withdrawn from the 21 accounts (no exact figures are available for two accounts) holding the Bt73 billion from the Shin Corp sale and Bt53 billion was left.

On Monday, the AEC ordered the freezing of the 21 accounts and other accounts held by Thaksin and Pojaman.

An AEC source said the committee was keeping an eye on the banking transactions of people close to the Shinawatra and Damapong families to watch for any movement of large amounts of cash. Among the accounts under scrutiny are those of Thaksin's sister, Yaowapa Wongsawat.

The AEC yesterday had a meeting to appoint two new panels to investigate cases related to the asset freezing.

AEC spokesman Sak Korsaengruang said a subcommittee headed by AEC member and Auditor-General Khunying Jaruvan Maintaka will investigate the source of the funds and trace the transactions in the frozen accounts. Another subcommittee headed by AEC member Amnuay Tantara will consider the complaint filed by the account holders against the freeze order.

The AEC will also issue a White Paper for public distribution, clarifying its decision to freeze the accounts, Sak said.

Jaruvan's panel will meet today to keep up with the progress.

Meanwhile, the AEC panel investigating irregularities in the Shin Corp share sale has summoned Panthongtae, but Thaksin's son has asked for a postponement to June 27 because he is currently abroad.

BOT Governor Tarisa Watanagase believes the Bt8 billion withdrawn from the 21 frozen bank accounts between June 4 and 11, is still in the Kingdom given there is no evidence of electronic overseas transfers.

"It is unlikely the money was physically carried out either, because there are not enough foreign currency banknotes in circulation for the conversion," she said.

Tarisa also noted that former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his family have never asked the central bank for permission to take money out to finance the US$27 million (Bt954 million) luxury townhouse purchase in Hong Kong.

Since Tarisa has been governor, she has received and approved only one proposal - to remit 70 million pounds (Bt4.4 billion) for the purchase of a house in London.

Former governor MR Pridiyathorn Devakula, who made a visit to the BOT yesterday, added that during his tenure the family had not asked his permission for the transfer of money either for investment or property purchases.

According to BOT rules, monetary transfer out of the country of more than US$10 million needs approval from the central bank.

"He [Thaksin] might have bank accounts abroad and withdrew the money from those accounts to buy the house. As such, he did not need to ask for the central bank's permission," said Pridiyathorn.

He suggested the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) track down the ousted prime minister's monetary transactions, because commercial banks are required to report to the office any transactions in excess of Bt2 million. The money might be withdrawn for domestic activities or buying jewellery.

Tarisa said the central bank has been working on tracing the money transferred from the accounts of Thaksin and his wife, as ordered by the Assets Examination Committee.

"This would take time as it involves complicated transactions. We will start our work with the commercial banks first," she said.

- The Nation

[sriracha john]

Links to 'ghost accounts' found

Ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra had been found to have "ghost accounts" for stocks and cash transactions in overseas banks and stock-brokers which lead to the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) to freeze his assets, financial sources said.

The AEC has now in its hands damaging evidence that Thaksin still held banking and stock accounts in overseas financial institutions during the period leading up to his sale of Shin Corp to Temasek Holdings of Singapore.

Thaksin has been claiming all along that he had transferred all of his business interests to his children before entering politics in 2001.

"But it has been discovered that Thaksin kept the 'ghost accounts' overseas. This information has never been released before. The accounts were open to keep his cash and stocks in several institutions. The AEC now has this material evidence in its hands, which gave it the confidence to freeze Thaksin's assets in preparation of further prosecutions against him in the court of justice," said one financial source.

The AEC on Monday ordered local banks to freeze all the bank accounts, worth more than Bt52 billion, of Thaksin and his wife Pojaman on the grounds that he was unusually wealthy through exploiting his high position as prime minister to benefit his own company through policy corruption.

Thaksin has claimed he transferred his ownership in Ample Rich Investments, incorporated in the British Virgins Island, and which owned 10 per cent of Shin Corp, to his two children Panthongtae and Pinthongta before he entered politics in 2001.

But the AEC has found evidence that points the other way. The paper trail that followed afterwards shows that Thaksin was still the beneficiary owner of his wealth. Moreover, Thaksin also maintained the "ghost accounts" in top secrecy.

Singapore, which envisions itself as a regional financial centre, provides confidentiality protection for the banks, financial institutions and clients doing business.

But financial sources said the AEC has managed to secure the damaging information against Thaksin from counter-party financial institutions that were engaged in the transactions with Thaksin's banks and stock-broking firms.

When Thaksin came to office in 2001, the market capitalisation of Shin Corp was about Bt20 billion. During his five-year reign, the market capitalisation of Shin Corp almost quadrupled, allowing him to sell his 49 per cent stake in the company to Temasek for Bt73.3 billion.

The AEC is going to establish a damaging case against Thaksin by pointing out evidence that Thaksin still owned Shin Corp in the period leading to his sale of the company to Temasek and that he exploited his power as prime minister to enrich himself. The policy corruption implemented by Thaksin ranges from a revision of the pre-paid mobile phone business that benefited Advanced Info Service by Bt20 billion to a revision of the excise tax that benefited AIS by Bt40 billion.

This is not to mention policy corruption that has benefited Air Asia, ITV, and Shin Satellite, among others.

"The AEC's evidence has confirmed our belief, which we have tried to prove all along, that Thaksin was the real owner of Shin Corp before selling out to Temasek," said Korn Chatikavanij, deputy secretary-general of the Democrat Party.

There are now three cases relating to Shin Corp that are under investigation. The first case is Kularb Kaew, allegedly set up by Temasek as its nominee to buy out Shin Corp. The police are investigating this case.

The second involves Win Mark, found to have links with SC Assets, a property arm of the Shinawatra family, in a similar way that Ample Rich is linked to Shin Corp. The Department of Special Investigation is following up on this case.

The third case is the Ample Rich deal, which the AEC is now pinning on Thaksin, who is facing overwhelming legal evidence against him.

- The Nation

[TAWP]

I think you have it backwards. Thaksin was democratically elected. The dictators in this story are the ones demanding that his assets be frozen. How any country could take this order seriously is beyond me. My son and wife took advantage of the 30 Baht health care system. Thank you very much.

So the original 50baht scheme was too expensive? Since the 30baht scheme seemed to have saved so many lives and made so many people happy.

It cannot be for any other reasons they vote like they do.

[sriracha john]

IN THE MONEY

Can you imagine what 73 billion baht actually looks like? Take a 1,000-baht banknote and measure it. They are about 16.2cm long and 7.2 cm wide. If you laid them on the road, one by one, you would have to use a total of 6,172.8 notes, or about 6.173 million baht, to cover a distance of one kilometre. This means deposed prime minister Thaksin's 73 billion baht would cover a total of about 11,825 km. That is further than the distance of 9,570 km between Bangkok and London, where Mr Thaksin currently resides. If you stack them up, a pile of a thousand 1,000-baht notes, worth one million baht, stands 9.4 cm high. This means that 73 billion baht would stand 6.86 km high, more than double the height of Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand. It is also higher than the Alps, which reach about 4.81 km skywards. Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, is about 8.85 km high.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/14Jun2007_news35.php

Edited June 14, 2007 by sriracha john

[thedude]

IN THE MONEY

Can you imagine what 73 billion baht actually looks like? Take a 1,000-baht banknote and measure it. They are about 16.2cm long and 7.2 cm wide. If you laid them on the road, one by one, you would have to use a total of 6,172.8 notes, or about 6.173 million baht, to cover a distance of one kilometre. This means deposed prime minister Thaksin's 73 billion baht would cover a total of about 11,825 km. That is further than the distance of 9,570 km between Bangkok and London, where Mr Thaksin currently resides. If you stack them up, a pile of a thousand 1,000-baht notes, worth one million baht, stands 9.4 cm high. This means that 73 billion baht would stand 6.86 km high, more than double the height of Doi Inthanon, the highest mountain in Thailand. It is also higher than the Alps, which reach about 4.81 km skywards. Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world, is about 8.85 km high.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.com/News/14Jun2007_news35.php

sounds like envy to me.

for a bit more objectivity may i refer to you this aritcle.

http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?opti...6&Itemid=31

[sriracha john]

Here is where nearly 872 million Thai baht went off to...

Thaksin hits Peak

Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted prime minister of Thailand, was the purchaser of the luxury townhouse on The Peak recently sold by Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) - a property whose price tag of HK$41,000 per square foot * 170,650 Thai Baht per square foot * set a record in Asia's luxury property market, sources told The Standard.

A source close to the deal said it was billionaire Thaksin who paid an astounding HK$210 million * 871,922,107 Thai Baht * for the 5,100 sq ft townhouse, referred to as House 1 at Severn 8, The Peak.

Two other sources also named Thaksin as the buyer, whose identity was previously unknown.

"It is obvious the seller is pushing the price to the limit," said a source who has been in the property industry for more than 30 years.

"It would require someone who either loves the property very much or who does not care about money at all to make the call of buying it for more than HK$41,000 per square foot."

The Severn 8 development is considered one of the biggest projects in Hong Kong in terms of size and luxury.

Thaksin's townhouse - complete with swimming pool - does not stand on its own but is connected to other units and, therefore, was considered unlikely to fetch such a premium price.

Local media had previously reported only that the property was sold to an unnamed "businessman."

"The price shows how good the quality of House 1 is in terms of its geographic location and how quiet the living environment is," Midland Realty sales director Gary Yeung Wing-kin said after the deal.

Before the sale, local media had speculated that the house was reserved for Martin Lee Ka-shing, co-vice chairman of Henderson Land (0012) and younger son of company chairman Lee Shau-kee, to move into after his recent HK$100 million wedding to model and actress Cathy Chui Chi-kay.

The price Thaksin paid for the property was a record for the luxury market - not just in Hong Kong, but for the whole of Asia.

The businessman-turned-politician has been spotted in Hong Kong shopping with his wife several times recently.

Thaksin has been in exile since a coup took control of Thailand last September while he was out of the country on a diplomatic visit.

Since the coup, he has been living mostly in London.

SHKP bought the land for its 22-house project on Severn Road for HK$8,353 per square foot of developable gross floor area at a government land auction in February 2000.

Thaksin's purchase price is the latest in a string of records for the 8 Severn Road development.

- The Standard (China)

yes, he did... no, he didn't... yes, he did... no, he didn't

Lawyer: Thaksin not in HK home deal

BANGKOK, Thailand - Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra did not buy a $27 million townhouse in Hong Kong's most prestigious neighborhood as reported by various media, his spokesman said on Thursday.

"I've checked with Dr. Thaksin and he said he didn't buy it," lawyer and spokesman Noppadon Pattama told Reuters.

The Standard newspaper reported on Wednesday Thaksin paid about HK$210 million -- HK$41,000 per square foot -- for a 5,100 sq ft (474 sq m) house on the Peak, the highest ever unit price in the region's luxury real estate arena.

But Noppadon said the report was groundless.

Telecoms tycoon Thaksin came to power in 2001 promising to improve the lives of the rural poor, but was then ousted in a September military coup.

On Monday, Thailand's army-backed government told the country's banks to freeze bank accounts holding $1.5 billion held by Thaksin and his family.

- Reuters

[mellow1]

Read: Asia Sentinel's "Thailand's Thaksin Freeze Out" for more insight on this.

Can't seem to locate,add attachment button,on this forum.I'm running latest Firefox.

Maybe someone can upload the article for the other members.

[thedude]

Read: Asia Sentinel's "Thailand's Thaksin Freeze Out" for more insight on this.

Can't seem to locate,add attachment button,on this forum.I'm running latest Firefox.

Maybe someone can upload the article for the other members.

Please see my above post with link.

i reproduce part of the article here for easy reference....

Allegations pose large questions The point of this is that it may prove tricky to prove “policy corruption.” The playing field was certainly tilted in favor of AIS, but it’s tough to pin that solely on Thaksin. Back in 1990, when the concession was first granted and Thaksin was still an executive, TOT exempted AIS from charges to access its fixed-line networks in an effort to give it a market advantage over concessionaires of CAT, its fierce rival. In the early 1990s, AIS used this advantage to reap billions, although its rival DTAC also took in stellar profits. This led to calls for market liberalization.

The financial crisis ended talk of reforms and helped deter new players. By the time the economy recovered a few years later, Thaksin was premier.

The AEC says the evidence of abuse of power lies in seven suspicious decisions from Thaksin that led to accusations of unusual wealth: four concerning AIS and three involving Shin Satellite. The accusations involving AIS involve about 100 billion baht in “lost” revenue compared to just a few billion from Shin Satellite. Even so, if the allegations against Thaksin stick, then many new cans of worms may be opened.

Thaksin’s critics accused him of conflict of interest when he blasted AIS’s rivals in 2002 for refusing to pay the discriminatory access charges to TOT. The state enterprise backed Thaksin and threatened to cut off DTAC and the forerunner to True Move. Many saw this as TOT manipulating the playing field for Thaksin’s personal gain, even though the Administrative Court ‑ which displayed a flare for independence in blocking the initial public offering of the state-run electricity monopoly in 2005 ‑ also ruled in favor of TOT.

While Thaksin did indeed benefit, it’s also clear that TOT was also looking out for its own interests. Even after the military ousted Thaksin, TOT threatened to cut off DTAC and True Move for refusing to pay access charges, and the government is now doing all it can to resist efforts to switch to interconnection charges, which would truly help level the playing field.

If Thaksin is found guilty of policy corruption for telling CAT concessionaires to pay access charges, then would prosecutors go after the current government for saying the same thing?

The AEC also fingered Thaksin for TOT’s decision to reduce AIS’s revenue-sharing payments on pre-paid calls to 20% from 25%, which investigators say cost the state 71.7 billion baht. The military-appointed government is now hoping to boost those payments to 30%.

But that decision came about because TOT agreed at the same time to a DTAC request to amend access charge payments from 200 baht per user per month to 18% of pre-paid revenue. If the court rules that decision is deemed policy corruption, does that mean Thaksin will also be charged for the money DTAC saved by reformulating the access charge agreement?

Another major complaint from graft investigators is that Thaksin’s government allowed mobile phone firms to deduct 10% of concession payments as an excise tax, which resulted in losses for the state-run telecom companies. But this move was in line with liberalization, and the money was still paid to the government.

It was also applied to all telecom companies. So if Thaksin is required to pay back TOT’s lost revenue, will he also be required to pay back the revenue CAT would’ve made from DTAC and True Move?

The committee also says Thaksin abused his power by raising the limit on foreign holdings in telecom companies to 49% just days before the Shin deal went through. However, this was in the works for years, and in fact AIS’s rivals were furious at the government for not doing it sooner.

The Telecom Business Law, which took effect in November 2001, put the foreign investment cap at 25%. At the time, AIS was the only company that actually complied with this provision. DTAC was 40% owned by Norway’s Telenor, and TA Orange, which later became True Move, was 49%-owned by French-owned Orange.

Although the law was not retroactive, DTAC and TA Orange said the limit sent the wrong signal to their parent companies, which they needed to grow. In turn, the government agreed to amend the law to 49%. So when the law was finally amended days before the Shin sale in January 2006, it was certainly no surprise. The only question might be why it took five years to do so.

As for Shin Satellite, the strongest case against Thaksin appears to be his government’s approval of a four-billion-baht EXIM bank soft loan to Burma, 600 million of which went to buy services from his family’s satellite firm. While this is certainly a direct benefit to one of his family’s companies, it’s also not terribly unusual. The Thai government had approved soft loans to Burma to build roads and airports, and many Thai companies benefited. It’s quite standard around the world for governments to offer cheap loans to countries in order to generate business for national companies.

Narongchai Akransee, EXIM bank chairman and a former commerce minister during the 1990s, defended the loan before the AEC last month. Three billion of the four-billion-baht loan had already been disbursed, Narongchai said, and Burma has dutifully made the interest payments.

The senior bureaucrat added that the loan was made as part of government policy to encourage foreign investment in other countries, and has benefited 15 Thai companies in addition to Shin Satellite.

“We won’t take every penny”

Even so, that won’t stop the AEC from targeting Thaksin. They have already calculated the political premium he added to Shin’s value at 40 billion baht.

“We won’t take every penny,” said Kaewsan. “About 30 billion baht [of the 73.3 billion] we have to give back. But then they can get the rest through civil lawsuits.”

Thaksin certainly didn’t hide his contempt for allegations that his policies benefited Shin while he was in office, and it’s unlikely he will mince words if he testifies in court. When accused of “policy corruption” in 2004, Thaksin replied: “They just made up a beautiful term to use against me. There’s no such thing in this government. Our policies only serve the interests of the majority of the people.”

“Politicians have nothing to do with share values,” he added. “Look at the stock prices of banks ‑ they have also risen. Energy and cement shares have also jumped. The critics are just talking half-truths; it’s an ancient tactic.”

Since the case will go to Criminal Court, Thaksin could find himself in jail in addition to losing a large chunk of his fortune. Right now it’s unclear under which statute he will be charged, but the anti-corruption law here has stiff penalties for politicians who abuse their power.

Even so, a court appearance may actually prove to be a good outcome for Thaksin. On Wednesday, coup leader Sonthi Boonyaratglin warned the ex-premier of another fate that could come his way if he returns: assassination.

[Plus]

Policy corruption charges are nothing new, what's new is that for the first time they were able to link Thaksin to AIS and Shin, companies he claimed to have sold to his children.

It's those links that suddenly make him personally involved.

Besides policy corruption charges it opens a whole new can of worms - lying on asset declaration forms for god knows how many times.

[chinthee]

Policy corruption charges are nothing new, what's new is that for the first time they were able to link Thaksin to AIS and Shin, companies he claimed to have sold to his children.

It's those links that suddenly make him personally involved.

Besides policy corruption charges it opens a whole new can of worms - lying on asset declaration forms for god knows how many times.

You are right here, and asset tracing, fraudulent transfer charges involving foreign banks and entities could get very messy, involving litigation in a number of countries, and could be very PUBLIC.

[Mid]

Thaksin opens his accounts

By Surasak Glahan

The ex-PM's lawyer says the so-called "missing" 23 billion baht portion of the 73-billion-baht Shin Corp sale proceeds from Temasek is still in Thailand, earmarked in part for purchase of the Manchester City Football Club - and the ASC knew all along.

The lead legal adviser to ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Noppadon Pattama, was responding to remarks by the Assets Scrutiny Committee (ASC) which claimed that the money was missing.

Rather, he said the money remained in local firms and banks.

"The money has been prepared for investment in England's Manchester City football club and other property developments," he said.

A large chunk of 16.4 billion baht has been invested in seven companies by Mr Thaksin's two adult children and his wife's stepbrother, he said.

strange that the BOT cannot trace the freight .....................

[Mid]

SHIN CORP PROCEEDS

All funds can be accounted for: lawyerFri, June 15, 2007 : Last updated 9:29 am (Thai local time)

Noppadon says money was put into investments, deposits; accuses AEC of miscalculating figures

Ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra's legal adviser yesterday reported the whereabouts of more than Bt23 billion reported as "missing" from the bank accounts of the ex-PM and his family members before Mondays' asset-freeze order by the Assets Examination Committee (AEC).

[hammered]

Read: Asia Sentinel's "Thailand's Thaksin Freeze Out" for more insight on this.

Can't seem to locate,add attachment button,on this forum.I'm running latest Firefox.

Maybe someone can upload the article for the other members.

Please see my above post with link.

i reproduce part of the article here for easy reference....

Allegations pose large questions The point of this is that it may prove tricky to prove “policy corruption.” The playing field was certainly tilted in favor of AIS, but it’s tough to pin that solely on Thaksin. Back in 1990, when the concession was first granted and Thaksin was still an executive, TOT exempted AIS from charges to access its fixed-line networks in an effort to give it a market advantage over concessionaires of CAT, its fierce rival. In the early 1990s, AIS used this advantage to reap billions, although its rival DTAC also took in stellar profits. This led to calls for market liberalization.

The financial crisis ended talk of reforms and helped deter new players. By the time the economy recovered a few years later, Thaksin was premier.

The AEC says the evidence of abuse of power lies in seven suspicious decisions from Thaksin that led to accusations of unusual wealth: four concerning AIS and three involving Shin Satellite. The accusations involving AIS involve about 100 billion baht in “lost” revenue compared to just a few billion from Shin Satellite. Even so, if the allegations against Thaksin stick, then many new cans of worms may be opened.

Thaksin’s critics accused him of conflict of interest when he blasted AIS’s rivals in 2002 for refusing to pay the discriminatory access charges to TOT. The state enterprise backed Thaksin and threatened to cut off DTAC and the forerunner to True Move. Many saw this as TOT manipulating the playing field for Thaksin’s personal gain, even though the Administrative Court ‑ which displayed a flare for independence in blocking the initial public offering of the state-run electricity monopoly in 2005 ‑ also ruled in favor of TOT.

While Thaksin did indeed benefit, it’s also clear that TOT was also looking out for its own interests. Even after the military ousted Thaksin, TOT threatened to cut off DTAC and True Move for refusing to pay access charges, and the government is now doing all it can to resist efforts to switch to interconnection charges, which would truly help level the playing field.

If Thaksin is found guilty of policy corruption for telling CAT concessionaires to pay access charges, then would prosecutors go after the current government for saying the same thing?

The AEC also fingered Thaksin for TOT’s decision to reduce AIS’s revenue-sharing payments on pre-paid calls to 20% from 25%, which investigators say cost the state 71.7 billion baht. The military-appointed government is now hoping to boost those payments to 30%.

But that decision came about because TOT agreed at the same time to a DTAC request to amend access charge payments from 200 baht per user per month to 18% of pre-paid revenue. If the court rules that decision is deemed policy corruption, does that mean Thaksin will also be charged for the money DTAC saved by reformulating the access charge agreement?

Another major complaint from graft investigators is that Thaksin’s government allowed mobile phone firms to deduct 10% of concession payments as an excise tax, which resulted in losses for the state-run telecom companies. But this move was in line with liberalization, and the money was still paid to the government.

It was also applied to all telecom companies. So if Thaksin is required to pay back TOT’s lost revenue, will he also be required to pay back the revenue CAT would’ve made from DTAC and True Move?

The committee also says Thaksin abused his power by raising the limit on foreign holdings in telecom companies to 49% just days before the Shin deal went through. However, this was in the works for years, and in fact AIS’s rivals were furious at the government for not doing it sooner.

The Telecom Business Law, which took effect in November 2001, put the foreign investment cap at 25%. At the time, AIS was the only company that actually complied with this provision. DTAC was 40% owned by Norway’s Telenor, and TA Orange, which later became True Move, was 49%-owned by French-owned Orange.

Although the law was not retroactive, DTAC and TA Orange said the limit sent the wrong signal to their parent companies, which they needed to grow. In turn, the government agreed to amend the law to 49%. So when the law was finally amended days before the Shin sale in January 2006, it was certainly no surprise. The only question might be why it took five years to do so.

As for Shin Satellite, the strongest case against Thaksin appears to be his government’s approval of a four-billion-baht EXIM bank soft loan to Burma, 600 million of which went to buy services from his family’s satellite firm. While this is certainly a direct benefit to one of his family’s companies, it’s also not terribly unusual. The Thai government had approved soft loans to Burma to build roads and airports, and many Thai companies benefited. It’s quite standard around the world for governments to offer cheap loans to countries in order to generate business for national companies.

Narongchai Akransee, EXIM bank chairman and a former commerce minister during the 1990s, defended the loan before the AEC last month. Three billion of the four-billion-baht loan had already been disbursed, Narongchai said, and Burma has dutifully made the interest payments.

The senior bureaucrat added that the loan was made as part of government policy to encourage foreign investment in other countries, and has benefited 15 Thai companies in addition to Shin Satellite.

“We won’t take every penny”

Even so, that won’t stop the AEC from targeting Thaksin. They have already calculated the political premium he added to Shin’s value at 40 billion baht.

“We won’t take every penny,” said Kaewsan. “About 30 billion baht [of the 73.3 billion] we have to give back. But then they can get the rest through civil lawsuits.”

Thaksin certainly didn’t hide his contempt for allegations that his policies benefited Shin while he was in office, and it’s unlikely he will mince words if he testifies in court. When accused of “policy corruption” in 2004, Thaksin replied: “They just made up a beautiful term to use against me. There’s no such thing in this government. Our policies only serve the interests of the majority of the people.”

“Politicians have nothing to do with share values,” he added. “Look at the stock prices of banks ‑ they have also risen. Energy and cement shares have also jumped. The critics are just talking half-truths; it’s an ancient tactic.”

Since the case will go to Criminal Court, Thaksin could find himself in jail in addition to losing a large chunk of his fortune. Right now it’s unclear under which statute he will be charged, but the anti-corruption law here has stiff penalties for politicians who abuse their power.

Even so, a court appearance may actually prove to be a good outcome for Thaksin. On Wednesday, coup leader Sonthi Boonyaratglin warned the ex-premier of another fate that could come his way if he returns: assassination.

This article seems to have been written before the "ghost accounts" came to light. If there is material evidence of ghost accounts it is higly unlikely we will see Mr. Thaksin attending any court soon as that kind of evidence would be extremely damning on what has become known as policy corruption.

[chinthee]

You know, not to defend the man, but legally, there is a point about asset protection, asset planning, fraudulent transfer, etc..

He was a dollar billionaire before he took office supposedly, and presumably had lots of cash. Prior to any of the alleged illegal acts while in office, he could have undertaken any type of legal asset protection he wanted, including ghost accounts, offshore accounts, etc... It doesn't seem fair to freeze all acounts as much of the money could be argued to have been accumulated before office and before any abuse could have occured.

I haven't looked at this very deeply, but is it true that ALL of his accounts have been frozen?

[Mid]

but is it true that ALL of his accounts have been frozen

NO

only domestic a/c's ....................................

[jumnien]

The CNS will take Thaksin to the cleaners. They own the guns; they own the country. Anyone going to argue with that?

[Mid]

The CNS will take Thaksin to the cleaners. They own the guns; they own the country. Anyone going to argue with that?

guns give the FALSE sense that they own the country ,

and

your forgetting the people ,

as is everyone else involved in this black drama ,

meanwhile .......................

[thedude]

official statement by Baker Botts LLC as found on www.allamericanpatriots.com

esteemed junta leader Surayud has responded by claiming that he was confident the international community would understand the situation and would continue to invest in thailand.

Statement on AEC Assets Seizure

Tue, 06/12/2007 - 20:40 — admin HOUSTON, June 12/PRNewswire/ -- The seizure of Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra's assets by a committee appointed by the coup leaders represents a major escalation in the Thai military junta's willingness to trample internationally accepted norms of due process and rule of law.

The junta's action evinces a willingness to continue its one-track political vendetta against our client, Dr. Thaksin, even though he has repeatedly emphasized his willingness to assist in the reconciliation process that is critical to Thailand's return to democracy and stability. Dr. Thaksin has committed himself publicly and unconditionally on numerous occasions to remain out of Thailand's politics. Most recently, Dr. Thaksin called on members of his former Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party to abide by the decision of Thailand's highest court to dissolve the party. Dr. Thaksin on his own accord followed up those calls for calm with a commitment that he would not provide any financial support for political activities by former members of TRT or other political parties.

Despite all of Dr. Thaksin's efforts, the junta is committed to finding means to circumvent any rule of law to persecute Dr. Thaksin, his family, his friends and his business activities. The junta's attacks on Dr. Thaksin amount to an arbitrary interference with his privacy and his family, his private property, his business interests as well as his honour and reputation which is abhorrent to principles of international justice.

It should also not be overlooked that, since overthrowing Thailand's civilian government and abrogating Thailand's 1997 constitution, the coup leaders have continually resorted to the most outrageous accusations against Dr. Thaksin: in January 2007, hours after a series of bombings rocked Bangkok, before any investigation could begin, the military accused Dr. Thaksin of ordering the attacks. After days of being called to task for these accusations, the coup leaders backed down from their accusations and affirmed that there was no evidence of Dr. Thaksin's involvement.

The international community should by now be no stranger to the modus operandi of Thailand's coup leaders. Whether it is threats to penalize outsiders by blocking their investments in Thailand, the censorship of CNN broadcasts and thousands of political websites and other political speech, or the reported threats to blackmail governments and companies to give up their intellectual property rights, the military junta has little regard for the norms and rules that are broadly accepted by the international community. The junta's decision to escalate its persecution of Dr. Thaksin has set back efforts to progress Thailand back to civilian rule and democracy. It has also sent a powerful reminder to all that Thailand remains in the grip of military rule that is divorced from the rule of law.

We have been authorized by Dr. Thaksin to vigorously evaluate all international options to protect his rights and interests.

About Baker Botts L.L.P.

Baker Botts L.L.P., founded in 1840, is a leading international law firm with offices in Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Dubai, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Moscow, New York, Riyadh and Washington. With approximately 750 lawyers, Baker Botts provides a full range of legal services to regional, national and international clients.

[jdinasia]

lol ... BakerBotts and the law ......

If my assetts were frozen due to corruption I would want a lawfirm like them! AND a good spin doctor!

[Old Man River]

If there is material evidence of ghost accounts it is higly unlikely we will see Mr. Thaksin attending any court soon as that kind of evidence would be extremely damning on what has become known as policy corruption.

The biggest potential damning issue on the ghost accounts would not be as it relates to proceeds of "policy corruption," because if he is adjuged guilty of making decisions solely to benefit one company over another that is illegal in itself.

The real issue on the ghost accounts is more of a question of control. It has to be proven that Thaskin had control over these accounts and that the funds in the accounts were derived from SHIN company transactions, something Thaksin has repeatedly maintained to the constitutional court that he no longer had anything to do with.

[thedude]

lol ... BakerBotts and the law ......

If my assetts were frozen due to corruption I would want a lawfirm like them! AND a good spin doctor!

i think the point is that the assets were frozen for alleged corruption.

as the Asia Sentinel article so clearly points out, after 9 months and a total lack of anything solid to go by, they are pushing for "policy corruption", which is not only a shaky concept, but is also complicated by all sorts of double standards which are difficult to isolate.

in the end, they have failed to prove what they have so confidently claimed as the prime reason for the coup. now they are clutching at straws.

it appears in today's news that the AEC was informed all along of the whereabouts of the alleged "missing" 28 billion baht which apparently prompted them to order the freeze in the first place.

this is just greed pretending to be justice.

[jdinasia]

lol ... BakerBotts and the law ......

If my assetts were frozen due to corruption I would want a lawfirm like them! AND a good spin doctor!

i think the point is that the assets were frozen for alleged corruption.

as the Asia Sentinel article so clearly points out, after 9 months and a total lack of anything solid to go by, they are pushing for "policy corruption", which is not only a shaky concept, but is also complicated by all sorts of double standards which are difficult to isolate.

in the end, they have failed to prove what they have so confidently claimed as the prime reason for the coup. now they are clutching at straws.

it appears in today's news that the AEC was informed all along of the whereabouts of the alleged "missing" 28 billion baht which apparently prompted them to order the freeze in the first place.

this is just greed pretending to be justice.

LOL

No I think you will find that courts issue orders to freeze funds BEFORE trials on a frequent basis! They will prove it or fail to prove it in court.

I think they will prove much but not all of what they have so far against him.

[Mid]

classic example of two wrongs not making a right .

[hammered]

official statement by Baker Botts LLC as found on www.allamericanpatriots.com

esteemed junta leader Surayud has responded by claiming that he was confident the international community would understand the situation and would continue to invest in thailand.

Statement on AEC Assets Seizure

Tue, 06/12/2007 - 20:40 — admin HOUSTON, June 12/PRNewswire/ -- The seizure of Dr. Thaksin Shinawatra's assets by a committee appointed by the coup leaders represents a major escalation in the Thai military junta's willingness to trample internationally accepted norms of due process and rule of law.

The junta's action evinces a willingness to continue its one-track political vendetta against our client, Dr. Thaksin, even though he has repeatedly emphasized his willingness to assist in the reconciliation process that is critical to Thailand's return to democracy and stability. Dr. Thaksin has committed himself publicly and unconditionally on numerous occasions to remain out of Thailand's politics. Most recently, Dr. Thaksin called on members of his former Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party to abide by the decision of Thailand's highest court to dissolve the party. Dr. Thaksin on his own accord followed up those calls for calm with a commitment that he would not provide any financial support for political activities by former members of TRT or other political parties.

Despite all of Dr. Thaksin's efforts, the junta is committed to finding means to circumvent any rule of law to persecute Dr. Thaksin, his family, his friends and his business activities. The junta's attacks on Dr. Thaksin amount to an arbitrary interference with his privacy and his family, his private property, his business interests as well as his honour and reputation which is abhorrent to principles of international justice.

It should also not be overlooked that, since overthrowing Thailand's civilian government and abrogating Thailand's 1997 constitution, the coup leaders have continually resorted to the most outrageous accusations against Dr. Thaksin: in January 2007, hours after a series of bombings rocked Bangkok, before any investigation could begin, the military accused Dr. Thaksin of ordering the attacks. After days of being called to task for these accusations, the coup leaders backed down from their accusations and affirmed that there was no evidence of Dr. Thaksin's involvement.

The international community should by now be no stranger to the modus operandi of Thailand's coup leaders. Whether it is threats to penalize outsiders by blocking their investments in Thailand, the censorship of CNN broadcasts and thousands of political websites and other political speech, or the reported threats to blackmail governments and companies to give up their intellectual property rights, the military junta has little regard for the norms and rules that are broadly accepted by the international community. The junta's decision to escalate its persecution of Dr. Thaksin has set back efforts to progress Thailand back to civilian rule and democracy. It has also sent a powerful reminder to all that Thailand remains in the grip of military rule that is divorced from the rule of law.

We have been authorized by Dr. Thaksin to vigorously evaluate all international options to protect his rights and interests.

About Baker Botts L.L.P.

Baker Botts L.L.P., founded in 1840, is a leading international law firm with offices in Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Dubai, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Moscow, New York, Riyadh and Washington. With approximately 750 lawyers, Baker Botts provides a full range of legal services to regional, national and international clients.

As long as the Junta pull off elections, it wont matter what T or his PR firm say. The world would like to see a return to democracy in Thailand if they see that in December investment analsysis will move towards normal and the world wil also welcome a return to democracy in Thailand. This prospect and deadline put presure on the Thaksinistas to pull something off now or to at least derail the return to democracy until a later date, which is why we see them trying to crank th pressure up.

[thedude]

lol ... BakerBotts and the law ......

If my assetts were frozen due to corruption I would want a lawfirm like them! AND a good spin doctor!

i think the point is that the assets were frozen for alleged corruption.

as the Asia Sentinel article so clearly points out, after 9 months and a total lack of anything solid to go by, they are pushing for "policy corruption", which is not only a shaky concept, but is also complicated by all sorts of double standards which are difficult to isolate.

in the end, they have failed to prove what they have so confidently claimed as the prime reason for the coup. now they are clutching at straws.

it appears in today's news that the AEC was informed all along of the whereabouts of the alleged "missing" 28 billion baht which apparently prompted them to order the freeze in the first place.

this is just greed pretending to be justice.

LOL

No I think you will find that courts issue orders to freeze funds BEFORE trials on a frequent basis! They will prove it or fail to prove it in court.

I think they will prove much but not all of what they have so far against him.

you neglect to point out however that in such cases the CHARGES must be clearly laid out. pray tell what specifically are the charges filed against him, apart from "oh we really think he is corrupt".

[hammered]

lol ... BakerBotts and the law ......

If my assetts were frozen due to corruption I would want a lawfirm like them! AND a good spin doctor!

i think the point is that the assets were frozen for alleged corruption.

as the Asia Sentinel article so clearly points out, after 9 months and a total lack of anything solid to go by, they are pushing for "policy corruption", which is not only a shaky concept, but is also complicated by all sorts of double standards which are difficult to isolate.

in the end, they have failed to prove what they have so confidently claimed as the prime reason for the coup. now they are clutching at straws.

it appears in today's news that the AEC was informed all along of the whereabouts of the alleged "missing" 28 billion baht which apparently prompted them to order the freeze in the first place.

this is just greed pretending to be justice.

LOL

No I think you will find that courts issue orders to freeze funds BEFORE trials on a frequent basis! They will prove it or fail to prove it in court.

I think they will prove much but not all of what they have so far against him.

A few days ago I posted a link to how far worse than has been done to T can be done in the EU. It would be foolish to suggest that "freezing" an account before a trial was some unique or particularly severe action. Even the freezing of accounts of those not directly linked to the case would be legal without evidence or a court order in th EU. What the AEC have done may be offensive to libertarians but to argue it is unusual or something that would only happen in Thailand is just plain wrong. The Thai authorities have acted within the norm of international law on this one unless of course one wants to argue that the EU are a set of rogue states.

[jdinasia]

lol ... BakerBotts and the law ......

If my assetts were frozen due to corruption I would want a lawfirm like them! AND a good spin doctor!

i think the point is that the assets were frozen for alleged corruption.

as the Asia Sentinel article so clearly points out, after 9 months and a total lack of anything solid to go by, they are pushing for "policy corruption", which is not only a shaky concept, but is also complicated by all sorts of double standards which are difficult to isolate.

in the end, they have failed to prove what they have so confidently claimed as the prime reason for the coup. now they are clutching at straws.

it appears in today's news that the AEC was informed all along of the whereabouts of the alleged "missing" 28 billion baht which apparently prompted them to order the freeze in the first place.

this is just greed pretending to be justice.

LOL

No I think you will find that courts issue orders to freeze funds BEFORE trials on a frequent basis! They will prove it or fail to prove it in court.

I think they will prove much but not all of what they have so far against him.

you neglect to point out however that in such cases the CHARGES must be clearly laid out. pray tell what specifically are the charges filed against him, apart from "oh we really think he is corrupt".

Charges have been laid out against him and cases filed

wishing it were not so does not make it no so