BBC Report: Thaksin to be curruption investigated

[ramidin]

Thailand's new military government says it has set up a commission to investigate claims of corruption under ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra.

The nine newly-appointed investigators will begin their work on Monday.

Government corruption was one of the reasons given by the military for its coup d'etat on Tuesday.

Earlier this year, suspected financial wrongdoing over the sale of Mr Thaksin's telecom empire sparked mass protests against the government.

His company in Singapore, Shin Corp, was sold for almost $2bn (£1.05bn).

"Any cases that cause serious damage to the country, we will have to investigate urgently," said Parnthep Klanarongran, the new chief of the National Counter-Corruption Commission.

POSSIBLE CANDIDATES FOR PM

Supachai Panitchpakdi , former World Trade Organisation chief

Chatumongol Sonakul , former central bank chief, sacked by Mr Thaksin

Pridiyathorn Devakula , central bank chief

Ackaratorn Chularat , president of Supreme Administrative Court

"If anyone commits wrongdoing, they will have to be prosecuted in the courts," he said on Saturday in an interview with Thai television.

"One reason they gave to justify the coup was corruption," political scientist Thitinan Pongsudhirak of Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University told the AFP news agency.

"Now they have to prove it. They also want to make sure Thaksin doesn't come back."

Meanwhile, the leaders of Thailand's military coup have been discussing the appointment of a new civilian prime minister.

They have promised to find a replacement within two weeks.

They are expected to provide a shortlist including leading economists and judges to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who will name a new leader on Wednesday.

The military has also said it will hold fresh elections by October next year.

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia...fic/5375062.stm

Published: 2006/09/24 07:15:49 GMT

© BBC MMVI

[britmaveric]

Ahhh might as well let the foxes guard the chicken coops.

[Upcountry]

As long as Thaksin's resources are at his disposal who knows what might happen.

The first thing I thought of when he said he'd devote his time and money to Thai charity was that he would continue his efforts to influence the underclass in Thailand, as part of a strategy to continue his influence!

Edited September 24, 2006 by Upcountry

[yorkman]

Story from BBC NEWS:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia...fic/5375062.stm

Published: 2006/09/24 07:15:49 GMT

© BBC MMVI

Unfortunately the BBC have decided to close this news item; especially the "Have your Say"..see link on the right..

It seemed to support the coup widely..hardly a surprise then....

[george]

Update:

CDRM set up special corruption investigation panel

BANGKOK: -- The Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy issued its 23rd decree to set up a special investigation panel to review all projects approved by the Thaksin government.

The decree states that the Thaksin Cabinet and ministers of the Thaksin government were suspected of abusing their authority to seek vested interest so the CDRM set up a special panel to review all the projects approved by them.

The committee is chaired by Sawat Chotephanich and has six other members, including the auditor-general, the attorney-general, the secretary-general of the National Counter Corruption Commission, the secretary-general of the Anti-Money Laundering Office, the secretary-general of Securities and Exchange Commission, and the central bank governor.

-- The Nation 2006-09-25

[george]

The Nation:

Speculation mounts over Thaksin and his assets

BANGKOK: -- Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra may have whisked some of his assets out of the country aboard two aircraft days before a military coup ousted him from power, airline officials said yesterday.

An official from Thai Airways International, who demanded anony-mity because company policy did not allow him to speak to the press, said he wanted the ruling military council to investigate the matter.

Speculation has been rife that Thaksin may have sneaked money out of the country in the days leading up to the coup, but there has been no confirmation from the council.

Immigration laws ban Thais from taking more than Bt50,000 out of the country if they go abroad.

Thaksin departed for Finland to begin a foreign tour on September 9, loading up his government-assigned aircraft with 58 large suitcases and trunks, the official of the national carrier said.

The prime minister's aircraft, named Thai Koofah, was then inexplicably left parked in Finland for more than a week as Thaksin continued on his trip on other transportation.

A second aircraft carrying 56 suitcases, an Airbus 340-600, was dispatched from Bangkok to meet up with the prime minister just days before the coup, the official said.

Another official in the airline industry, requesting anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity, confirmed the second flight, saying it left on September 17 - two days before the coup.

It was unclear why Thaksin needed a second aircraft when his own plane was already assigned to fly him to Europe and the United States.

Speculation has surfaced about whether Thaksin knew of the coup in advance and moved some of his assets out of the country.

Asked about Thaksin taking his assets abroad, ruling military council spokesman Lt-General Palanggoon Klaharn responded: "No comment.

I can't comment on that."

The military council said it will launch an investigation into alleged wrongdoing under Thaksin's government, which critics charge was riddled with corruption and abuse of power.

A spokeswoman for the airline said she was not aware of the events "and even if true, Thai Airways would only report it to the [council], not to the media". She said company policy did not allow her to use her name.

The official said it was not known what was taken aboard the second aircraft because only Thaksin's aides, citing security concerns, were allowed to supervise the loading.

"I want the [military] council to investigate this because we, the employees of Thai Airways International, believe that Thaksin exploited the company through his power as prime minister by using a company aeroplane to transport his assets out of the country," the official said.

Air Force spokesman Captain Pongsak Semachai said Thai Koofah arrived back in Thailand several days ago, but declined to give the exact date.

Earlier, one of Thaksin's staunchest opponents, publishing tycoon Sondhi Limthongkul, alleged the former leader had chartered two Russian aircraft to take some of his assets out of Thailand.

Sondhi, a key leader of mass street demonstrations against Thaksin earlier this year, made the allegations on his weekly television programme a week before Thaksin departed for Finland and repeated them the following week.

Rumours of such an airlift by Russian aircraft have continued to circulate in the international airline community in Bangkok but could not be confirmed.

Thaksin's family is among the country's wealthiest. In 2004, Forbes magazine ranked him the 16th richest man in Southeast Asia.

In January, he sold the centrepiece of his empire - telecom giant Shin Corp - to Singapore's state investment company, Temasek Holdings, for a tax-free Bt73.3 billion.

The head of the country's central bank, Pridiyathorn Devakul, has said the proceeds from the sale were probably still in Thailand.

"I estimate that no large amount of Thai baht has been converted into overseas currencies. However, I don't know whether the money could have been packed in suitcases and taken abroad," he said last week.

Thaksin and one of his children have stayed in London since the coup, while his wife and two other children remain in Bangkok.

Attorney-General Pachara Yutithamdamrong yesterday said he instructed special public prosecutors to be prepared to work on a number of corruption cases that the Office of the Auditor-General and the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) are expected to press against members of the Thaksin government. He said that all the cases against the politicians will be tried under the Supreme Court's Criminal Tribunal for Political Office Holders.

NCCC commissioner Vicha Mahakun said that although the NCCC has over 10,000 cases, it would treat corruption cases against politicians and high-raking officials as the most urgent.

--The Nation 2006-09-25

[astral]

According to a report in the Deccan Chronicle in India, Monday 25th, Thaksin left Thailand with 114 suitcases.

I do hope the UK customs checked them when he arrived in the UK.

I feel sure there would be some interesting items inside

The quantity suggests to me that he had wind of the coup.