Thaksin To Face New Corruption Charge Over Improper Bank Loans

[sriracha john]

The son of a politician in power in 2003.

Slow progress in 9 Billion Baht loan investigation

Prosecutors are prepared to seek Thaksin's extradition

Public prosecutors will spend at least one week studying an investigation report from the anti-graft agency before deciding whether to sue ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra and others for malfeasance in a 9 Billion Baht bank loan scandal, a senior prosecutor said yesterday.

Deputy Attorney-General Waiyawuth Lotrakul said the probe report by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which suggested suing Thaksin and others, had been forwarded to the Attorney-General for further action.

Waiyawuth said he expected the Attorney-General to assign his working group in the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) to study the report in detail in order to determine whether certain flaws in a previous report found by the joint NACC-OAG committee had been rectified.

He said the OAG would inform the NACC if any further improvement needed to be done. He added, however, that the NACC could pursue its case alone if it disagreed with the OAG recommendations.

He expected the OAG working group to spend longer than one week on its task as there was a lot of work to do.

The NACC took over investigation of the case from the Assets Examination Committee, which expired in mid-2008. The AEC concluded that Thaksin and 31 others were at fault in connection with 9 Billion Baht loans extended by the state-owned Krung Thai Bank to three private companies with links to people close to certain government figures.

It was found that a large amount of money had been transferred from one of the three companies to a bank account belonging to the son of a politician in power at that time.

A source said yesterday that the OAG working group would meet on Monday to discuss who would be sued.

According to the NACC probe report, three groups of people are involved. They are public office holders, including then-prime minister Thaksin, board members and top executives of KTB, and the loan recipient companies and individuals benefiting from the loans. The companies were identified as Krisda Mahanakorn, RK Professional, and Golden Technology Industrial Park.

In a related development, Sirisak Tiyaphan, Director-General of the OAG's Department of Foreign Litigation, said yesterday that the public prosecutors had completed the necessary paperwork required to seek Thaksin's extradition for prosecution in Thailand.

Sirisak said the prosecutors would soon ask the police in writing for the exact whereabouts of the fugitive ex-leader. He said he had learned that Thaksin was in Hong Kong, but that his address was needed to locate him.

Last October, Thaksin was sentenced to two years in jail in connection with the Ratchadaphisek land scandal, in which his then wife won a bid to buy a coveted state-seized land plot at a price far lower than the market rate. Thaksin did not appeal the verdict by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders. He described the ruling as "politically motivated".

- The Nation / 2009-02-21

Edited February 20, 2009 by sriracha john

[rixalex]

According to this 'logic' we will have to call the UK under Blair a "reign of terror" because one Brazilian man was mistakenly shot by overzealous police officers.

Throwing around with superlatives may be reassuring, but i puts this debate into a very low intellectual level. I would suggest spending some time in countries that are real "reigns of terror", maybe that would bring you people back down to reality.

At whose "behest" these victims of the drug war were shot is still obscure, and to find out what may have happened at the time might require the ability to think outside the box instead of just conveniently howling with the wolves.

What a stupid comparison. You can find examples of police officers injuring or killing suspects in the line of duty the world over. When they are threatened and in fear of their lives, this is what they are rightly trained to do. Yes, sometimes they get it wrong, but that's sadly inevitable when you consider they are dealing with life and death situations almost daily.

What we are talking about here however, is not officers getting it wrong. We are talking about them being given instructions to go out looking for suspects, and then to simply shoot on sight. Now to me, that seems like a pretty terrifying policy - to make a police officer judge, juror and executioner.

Quite why you are so desperate that the term "terror" not be used to describe such a situation is bizarre to me. On the other hand, maybe it's not - it's not like you hide your agenda after all.

[justanothercybertosser]

Quite why you are so desperate that the term "terror" not be used to describe such a situation is bizarre to me. On the other hand, maybe it's not - it's not like you hide your agenda after all.

What may then be my "agenda"?

"Reign of terror" is a pure exaggeration, a superlative that simply does not describe Thaksin's rule. It implies that this era of Thai politics equals the countries that are usually described as "reigns of terror" - places such as Burma and North Korea.

Are you proposing that Thailand under Thaksin had similarities to those systems?

[hammered]

The son of a politician in power in 2003.

Slow progress in 9 Billion Baht loan investigation

Prosecutors are prepared to seek Thaksin's extradition

Public prosecutors will spend at least one week studying an investigation report from the anti-graft agency before deciding whether to sue ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra and others for malfeasance in a 9 Billion Baht bank loan scandal, a senior prosecutor said yesterday.

Deputy Attorney-General Waiyawuth Lotrakul said the probe report by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which suggested suing Thaksin and others, had been forwarded to the Attorney-General for further action.

Waiyawuth said he expected the Attorney-General to assign his working group in the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) to study the report in detail in order to determine whether certain flaws in a previous report found by the joint NACC-OAG committee had been rectified.

He said the OAG would inform the NACC if any further improvement needed to be done. He added, however, that the NACC could pursue its case alone if it disagreed with the OAG recommendations.

He expected the OAG working group to spend longer than one week on its task as there was a lot of work to do.

The NACC took over investigation of the case from the Assets Examination Committee, which expired in mid-2008. The AEC concluded that Thaksin and 31 others were at fault in connection with 9 Billion Baht loans extended by the state-owned Krung Thai Bank to three private companies with links to people close to certain government figures.

It was found that a large amount of money had been transferred from one of the three companies to a bank account belonging to the son of a politician in power at that time.

A source said yesterday that the OAG working group would meet on Monday to discuss who would be sued.

According to the NACC probe report, three groups of people are involved. They are public office holders, including then-prime minister Thaksin, board members and top executives of KTB, and the loan recipient companies and individuals benefiting from the loans. The companies were identified as Krisda Mahanakorn, RK Professional, and Golden Technology Industrial Park.

In a related development, Sirisak Tiyaphan, Director-General of the OAG's Department of Foreign Litigation, said yesterday that the public prosecutors had completed the necessary paperwork required to seek Thaksin's extradition for prosecution in Thailand.

Sirisak said the prosecutors would soon ask the police in writing for the exact whereabouts of the fugitive ex-leader. He said he had learned that Thaksin was in Hong Kong, but that his address was needed to locate him.

Last October, Thaksin was sentenced to two years in jail in connection with the Ratchadaphisek land scandal, in which his then wife won a bid to buy a coveted state-seized land plot at a price far lower than the market rate. Thaksin did not appeal the verdict by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders. He described the ruling as "politically motivated".

- The Nation / 2009-02-21

This case looks very very bad for Thaksin's son.

[Ricardo]

So a case against 19 people, and 5 companies involving 4.5 billion Baht ought to be forgotton ...

This case seems to be typical of all the "corruption" cases that come up now - they are aimed at Thaksin solely, and involvement of people and factions allied with the present powers somehow fall under the table.

Not against Thaksin solely, but 18 other people & 5 companies as well, as reported in the OP.

And the count now rises, from 18 other people, plus Thaksin himself ...

The NACC took over investigation of the case from the Assets Examination Committee, which expired in mid-2008. The AEC concluded that Thaksin and 31 others were at fault in connection with 9 Billion Baht loans extended by the state-owned Krung Thai Bank to three private companies with links to people close to certain government figures.

It was found that a large amount of money had been transferred from one of the three companies to a bank account belonging to the son of a politician in power at that time.

A source said yesterday that the OAG working group would meet on Monday to discuss who would be sued.

According to the NACC probe report, three groups of people are involved. They are public office holders, including then-prime minister Thaksin, board members and top executives of KTB, and the loan recipient companies and individuals benefiting from the loans. The companies were identified as Krisda Mahanakorn, RK Professional, and Golden Technology Industrial Park.

- The Nation / 2009-02-21

... to 31 people plus Thaksin. So this case is even less "aimed at Thaksin solely", than when that claim was made, and is clearly not just a witch-hunt against one person.

[Plus]

"Reign of terror" is a pure exaggeration, a superlative that simply does not describe Thaksin's rule. It implies that this era of Thai politics equals the countries that are usually described as "reigns of terror" - places such as Burma and North Korea.

Millions of Burmese and North Koreans do not feel like they live under reign of terror at all.

It turns into terror once the authorities get on your back.

I lived through drug war ok, I had nothing to do with it. People who found themselves blacklisted felt differently. I think one in twenty on the lists was killed. Statistically not much but sends a message anyway, and it's not of peace but of terror.

Government tortured, kidnapped, and killed people who tried to stand up to it. Wasn't it "reign of terror" for them? There was absolutely no recourse, no safety, no protection, and it wasn't just isolated incidents but government's own policies. Isn't it "terror"?

Lots of Germans lived through holocaust and didn't feel it was "terror", lots of other Europeans lived through Nazi occupation and it wasn't all terror.

When you live through it - the terror is only for people on the receiving end, you don't feel it yourself.

[Samuian]

.................

... to 31 people plus Thaksin. So this case is even less "aimed at Thaksin solely", than when that claim was made, and is clearly not just a witch-hunt against one person.

I wouldn't be surprised if some 28 people turn out to be "nominees", like a driver, a gardener, a housemaid, a doorkeeper, a 7/11 employee.... all which have come "overnight" major shareholders and chairmen of companies founded over night with registration and mailboxes in the cayman islands...

this disease is called the "Marcos-Suharto Syndrome"

Edited February 21, 2009 by Samuian

[Bangyai]

That train has sailed.

Have they invented a train that can sail now then ? Bloody hel_l, what will they think of next ? This must have been crushing news for shipping companies

As for ' reign of terror ' and the elusive ' magic number ' , how about a number between two and three hundred ? That would allow for ' Suchindas reign of terror ' when under his authority, protesters were gunned down in the street.

Others would plumb for either 1 ( Samaks figure ) , 46 ( the official figure ) or hundreds ( the probable figure). This would allow for ' Seni Pramoj's reign of terror ' This would be grossly unfair to Seni Pramoj as he had nothing to do with the massacres. Indeed, he had tried to resign when following Thanoms return to Thailand in the guise of a monk, he ( Thanom ) had been visited in public by prominent people. Still, he was the premier at the time so logically........

IMO , there cannot be a ' magic number ' as the above examples illustrate. Was the PAD occupation of swampy terrorism ?? IMO ...no. Where were the massed killings , where was the terror.?? IMO, for the term ' ROT ' to be applicable , a situation needs to be prevelant whereby each and every citizen fears for his own or his families safety. Where people are scared to discuss politcs at all in public for fear of being overheard, arrested and held without charge to face possible torture, death and disappearance.

The Tak Bai and Krue sue incidents were deplorable and there can be no doubt that their victims were truly terrified. But in other parts of Thailand citizens were doing there Tesco shopping without a care in the world. Drug dealers probably lived in terror of the police but their fellow villagers went calmly about their business. I was here at the time and can say that there was no atmosphere of fear amongst the mass of law abiding citizens. Obviously, most Thais must have felt safe enough otherwise Thaksin would not have been voted in for a second term.

IMO, it is the military that should share in the responsibility for the killings they have commited beyond their official remit. Did Seni Pramoj order the October 6th massacre ? No, it was the military who were at the forefront helped by the red guars paramilitary. Did Thaksin order the miltary to ' stack 'em like logs, that'll learn 'em ' ....likely not....it was a decision taken by someone in uniform on the spot. Did Aphisit get on the phone and specifically order " I want those Burmese refugees stretched out in the hot sun on the beach for several hours then you are to tow them way out to sea, take away their engines and cast them adrift ! " ........ I am betting that he gave no such instructions. Nonetheless, after the event he was put in the embarrasing position of having to defend their actions.

The military are a law unto themselves. When they are not happy they have a coup . If they really don't like you they can shoot you. Their tentacles are into everything. Before this govournment came in, everyone went to Anupongs house ??

And yet, they cannot be tried in a civilian court and whatever they do, upto and including murder, they are always carefull to declare an amnesty for themselves and never suffer any punishment.

Well this has been a long post because I do not want to get involved in any more ลำฅัด ( lamdat ) sessions. It is way off topic I confess but I have answered at length in order to slake JD's thirst for a non existant ' magic number '

Now if you'll excuse me....I'm painting the kitchen.

Edited February 21, 2009 by Bangyai

[rixalex]

Now if you'll excuse me....I'm painting the kitchen.

What shade of red?

[jdinasia]

Now if you'll excuse me....I'm painting the kitchen.

What shade of red?

The color of red that avoids answering questions and equates sad one-off events with ongoing campaigns against people.

[Bangyai]

Now if you'll excuse me....I'm painting the kitchen.

What shade of red?

The color of red that avoids answering questions and equates sad one-off events with ongoing campaigns against people.

Prehaps you'd prefer pink

[jdinasia]

Now if you'll excuse me....I'm painting the kitchen.

What shade of red?

The color of red that avoids answering questions and equates sad one-off events with ongoing campaigns against people.

Prehaps you'd prefer pink

It isn't Tuesday. yet again ... nada from the excuses guy!

[Old Man River]

The son of a politician in power in 2003.

Slow progress in 9 Billion Baht loan investigation

Prosecutors are prepared to seek Thaksin's extradition

Public prosecutors will spend at least one week studying an investigation report from the anti-graft agency before deciding whether to sue ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra and others for malfeasance in a 9 Billion Baht bank loan scandal, a senior prosecutor said yesterday.

Deputy Attorney-General Waiyawuth Lotrakul said the probe report by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which suggested suing Thaksin and others, had been forwarded to the Attorney-General for further action.

Waiyawuth said he expected the Attorney-General to assign his working group in the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) to study the report in detail in order to determine whether certain flaws in a previous report found by the joint NACC-OAG committee had been rectified.

He said the OAG would inform the NACC if any further improvement needed to be done. He added, however, that the NACC could pursue its case alone if it disagreed with the OAG recommendations.

He expected the OAG working group to spend longer than one week on its task as there was a lot of work to do.

The NACC took over investigation of the case from the Assets Examination Committee, which expired in mid-2008. The AEC concluded that Thaksin and 31 others were at fault in connection with 9 Billion Baht loans extended by the state-owned Krung Thai Bank to three private companies with links to people close to certain government figures.

It was found that a large amount of money had been transferred from one of the three companies to a bank account belonging to the son of a politician in power at that time.

A source said yesterday that the OAG working group would meet on Monday to discuss who would be sued.

According to the NACC probe report, three groups of people are involved. They are public office holders, including then-prime minister Thaksin, board members and top executives of KTB, and the loan recipient companies and individuals benefiting from the loans. The companies were identified as Krisda Mahanakorn, RK Professional, and Golden Technology Industrial Park.

In a related development, Sirisak Tiyaphan, Director-General of the OAG's Department of Foreign Litigation, said yesterday that the public prosecutors had completed the necessary paperwork required to seek Thaksin's extradition for prosecution in Thailand.

Sirisak said the prosecutors would soon ask the police in writing for the exact whereabouts of the fugitive ex-leader. He said he had learned that Thaksin was in Hong Kong, but that his address was needed to locate him.

Last October, Thaksin was sentenced to two years in jail in connection with the Ratchadaphisek land scandal, in which his then wife won a bid to buy a coveted state-seized land plot at a price far lower than the market rate. Thaksin did not appeal the verdict by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders. He described the ruling as "politically motivated".

- The Nation / 2009-02-21

This case looks very very bad for Thaksin's son.

Yes it does, but then where did the money go after the alleged receipt by Panthongtae?

[ballpoint]

The son of a politician in power in 2003.

Slow progress in 9 Billion Baht loan investigation

Prosecutors are prepared to seek Thaksin's extradition

Public prosecutors will spend at least one week studying an investigation report from the anti-graft agency before deciding whether to sue ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra and others for malfeasance in a 9 Billion Baht bank loan scandal, a senior prosecutor said yesterday.

Deputy Attorney-General Waiyawuth Lotrakul said the probe report by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which suggested suing Thaksin and others, had been forwarded to the Attorney-General for further action.

Waiyawuth said he expected the Attorney-General to assign his working group in the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) to study the report in detail in order to determine whether certain flaws in a previous report found by the joint NACC-OAG committee had been rectified.

He said the OAG would inform the NACC if any further improvement needed to be done. He added, however, that the NACC could pursue its case alone if it disagreed with the OAG recommendations.

He expected the OAG working group to spend longer than one week on its task as there was a lot of work to do.

The NACC took over investigation of the case from the Assets Examination Committee, which expired in mid-2008. The AEC concluded that Thaksin and 31 others were at fault in connection with 9 Billion Baht loans extended by the state-owned Krung Thai Bank to three private companies with links to people close to certain government figures.

It was found that a large amount of money had been transferred from one of the three companies to a bank account belonging to the son of a politician in power at that time.

A source said yesterday that the OAG working group would meet on Monday to discuss who would be sued.

According to the NACC probe report, three groups of people are involved. They are public office holders, including then-prime minister Thaksin, board members and top executives of KTB, and the loan recipient companies and individuals benefiting from the loans. The companies were identified as Krisda Mahanakorn, RK Professional, and Golden Technology Industrial Park.

In a related development, Sirisak Tiyaphan, Director-General of the OAG's Department of Foreign Litigation, said yesterday that the public prosecutors had completed the necessary paperwork required to seek Thaksin's extradition for prosecution in Thailand.

Sirisak said the prosecutors would soon ask the police in writing for the exact whereabouts of the fugitive ex-leader. He said he had learned that Thaksin was in Hong Kong, but that his address was needed to locate him.

Last October, Thaksin was sentenced to two years in jail in connection with the Ratchadaphisek land scandal, in which his then wife won a bid to buy a coveted state-seized land plot at a price far lower than the market rate. Thaksin did not appeal the verdict by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders. He described the ruling as "politically motivated".

- The Nation / 2009-02-21

This case looks very very bad for Thaksin's son.

Yes it does, but then where did the money go after the alleged receipt by Panthongtae?

Well, for a start he had to replace that yellow shirt.

[Ricardo]

That train has sailed.

Have they invented a train that can sail now then ? Bloody hel_l, what will they think of next ? This must have been crushing news for shipping companies

I've heard of boat-trains, where the train meets the ship, and train-carrying ships, across rivers or lakes or the English Channel, and even a single-wagon train using a sail to push it (one direction only) along the tracks.

If only Tony Clifton were still active, and able to photoshop a suitable image, to illustrate this idea ? But I guess that ship has left the station ...

[slapout]

Just another example of the way Mr T does and did business. This man reminds me of the recent so called Panzai (sp) scams, in the latter cases the monies were promoted from financial groups and individuals with monies to invest whereas T and people closely associated with him for any length of time seem to go after the public monies which is/was designated for the welfare of all citizens, poor included. If anyone knows of any project instigated by T and his cronies which did not have a hint of corruption to it, please let us know. I wonder where the Thai inter structure, social programs, Ag sector, education, etc, etc, would be today if the monies which were skimmed off had gone into the various programs? The longer T is out of the country, it seems more deals are coming to light which only increase the stench associated with him and his cronies. It would appear that there are honest people in the Judicial and other parts of government who will and can do a corrupt free job if the dark influence can be curtailed. Lets hope these investigations continue to completion, and justice for all involved is disbursed.

[sriracha john]

In the meantime we have a case involving a paper trail to Thaksin's son and a witness. From whatever perspective people come this is clearly a more definitve case which I am sure few would argue shouldnt see its day in court.

Will the witness soon, be "on an unknown location"?

the way Kornthep Wiriya, aka "Shipping Moo" went?

This guy won't testify in any case anymore..... and that was ONLY about 100 Mill. tax evasion..

Of course that is a concern.

However the renewed vigour with which the shipping moo case is being pursued with will probably serve as a warning. In the real world of politcs we can almost certainly surmise that the big players know why shipping moo was killed and by whom on whose oreders. There may even be evidence or winesses. Mind you if the KTB case does the job so to speak in changing the politcal landscape then there may be less desire to vgorously push the shipping moo case. Hypothetically within a real politik framework speaking.....

Kornthep's death threat related to Shinsat tax case ignored in initial probe into his murder

The first team of police investigators totally ignored an incident that Kornthep Wiriya received a death threat related to his acting as the prosecution witness against Shin Satellite in a tax evasion case, a deputy national police chief said Friday.

Pol Gen Thani Somboonsup, who heads the new probe into Kornthep's murder case, the new investigative team would now focus on Kornthep's acting as a witness against Shinsat.

Thani told protesters that the wife of Kornthep filed a complaint with police just 3 days before he was gunned down that Kornthep received a phone call, asking him to withdraw his statement against Shinsat.

Thani said the first team of investigators focused the probe on allegations that Kornthep had conflicts with drug traffickers and did not take the death threat into account.

Thani said police would locate the owner of the phone number, who called Kornthep to ask him to withdraw his statement.

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjjaiva has assigned Thani to reinvestigate the unsolved murder case.

- The Nation / 2009-03-13

[Journalist]

Just another example of the way Mr T does and did business. This man reminds me of the recent so called Panzai (sp) scams,

I don't think there's any real doubt that the telecoms business he set up, was within a Thai context, extremely successful. That was not a Ponzi scheme, it was a 3 dimensional business and quite an accomplishment.

If he'd been run over by an elephant in his early fifties, his epitaph would have been that of a phenom in Asian business history. That legacy is now tarnished though.

[sriracha john]

If he'd been run over by an elephant in his early fifties, his epitaph would have been that of a phenom in Asian business history. That legacy is now tarnished though.

little chance of that happening... he's got the inside track on staying on the good side of elephants...

More news from the "far side" or "tales from the dark side"

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is taking his fight to hold onto his job all over the country and beyond -- to the netherworld.

Thaksin, who has previously accused his political foes of using black magic in their efforts to force him from office, received a gift Tuesday -- a magical elephant prod -- to help him ward off bad luck.

"I will use this prod, along with spells and talismans, to control the fierce opponents who are trying to oust me," Thaksin said during a campaign stop in the northeastern Surin province where he rode an elephant.

- Associated Press

[sriracha john]

of course the only problem will be identifying who's who, as they seem to have a habit of changing their names - my vote goes to sunrise07, or whatever he calls himself these days?

His third renaming is currently: jumnien

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?s=...t&p=2159772

Edited March 14, 2009 by sriracha john

[animatic]

Thankfully style is harder to change than just a name and member account.

[rixalex]

of course the only problem will be identifying who's who, as they seem to have a habit of changing their names - my vote goes to sunrise07, or whatever he calls himself these days?

His third renaming is currently: jumnien

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?s=...t&p=2159772

Jumnien mate, if you are looking for help in choosing name number four, don't hesitate to ask us for suggestions.

After all, it's actually not as easy as it looks to choose a name. You wouldn't believe the daft things people do - like using their own surnames! Amazing but true!

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Thankfully style is harder to change than just a name and member account.

Thankfully people's opinions are harder to suppress than what a forum allows..

[rixalex]

Thankfully style is harder to change than just a name and member account.

Thankfully people's opinions are harder to suppress than what a forum allows..

Don't worry - those with objectionable views will always have a voice somewhere or other - this is the ugly but inherent nature of free speech.

[wayfarer108]

If you research the history of the Nong Ngu Hao location it's pretty obvious why and how the Suvarnabhumi project got started. Anyone who knows the project knows that Suvarnabhumi was a complete boondoggle engineered by vested interests, eg, speculators buying cheap swampland in Nong Ngu Hao, contract skimmers and so on. A Thai engineer who worked on Suvarnabhumi told me they could have expanded and upgraded Don Muang to meet the same capacity for a third of the cost.

Just as Thaksin was able to get a monopoly bid on Thailand's satcom while Samak was serving as communications minister in 1991.