Thai Crown Prince offers personal assets to pay bond on impounded royal jet

2011-08-02 21:31:35 GMT+7 (ICT)

BANGKOK (BNO NEWS) -- Thai Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn has offered his personal assets to secure the release of a royal yet that was impounded at a German airport last month in order to settle the dispute between the Thai government and a German company, the MCOT news network reported on Tuesday.

The prince's secretariat said in a statement on Monday that he has offered his private funds to pay the 20 million euro ($28.4 million) bond to avoid any further impact on bilateral relations between Germany and Thailand. It added that although the Crown Prince was not personally involved in the dispute between the Thai government and the Walter Bau construction group, the consequences have tarnished his public image and impacted his royal duties.

Germany seized the aircraft used by the Crown Prince while it was parked at Munich airport on July 12, arguing that the Asian country has an unpaid debt to the German construction company.

Werner Schneider, the insolvency administrator for the Walter Bau construction group, is demanding over €30 million ($42.4 million) from the Thai government because a payment was allegedly never received when German construction firm Dywidag helped build a 26-kilometer (16.2-mile) road between Bangkok and the city's airport over 20 years ago.

The Landshut State Court of Germany initially ruled last month that the Thai crown prince's aircraft did not belong to the Thai government and agreed to release it on the condition that a 20 million euro ($28.4 million) bank guarantee must be deposited.

The Thai government refused the German demand, arguing that the jet is the personal property of the prince and not the government. In the statement, however, the Crown Prince said that he respects the court order and is confident in Germany's justice system.

The Southern District Court of New York last year ruled in favor of Walter Bau and ordered Thailand to compensate the firm, but Thailand's Office of the Attorney-General has appealed the ruling.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-08-02

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