18-year prison sentence to Suchai, Viroj

[webfact]

BANKING
18-year prison sentence to Suchai, Viroj
The Nation


A file photo of Viroj Nualkhair

BANGKOK: -- The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders today sentenced Suchai Chaovisit and Viroj Nualkhair to 18 years in prison for approving an Bt8 billion loan from Krungthai Bank.

They, along with the borrowers, are demanded to repay compensation to the bank, worth over Bt10 billion.

The loan was extended to subsidiaries of Krisdamanakorn Group in 2003, for refinancing and land acquisition. However, the loan was used for other purposes.

Suchai then served as the state-owned bank’s chairman while Viroj was the president.

While the 18-year prison term was handed to Suchai, Viroj and Defendent No.12 who served the bank’s loan approval committee, a 12-year prison term was handed to Defendants No. 5, 8-11, 13-17, and 23-27 who were bank executives and the borrowers.

The trial against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Defendant No.1, is temporarily suspended as he is in exile.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/18-year-prison-sentence-to-Suchai-Viroj-30267471.html


-- The Nation 2015-08-26

[scorecard]

[ramrod711]

The trial against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Defendant No.1, is temporarily suspended as he is in exile.

Really stupid question I know, has anyone ever considered trying him in absentia?

[zaphod reborn]

"The trial against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Defendant No.1, is temporarily suspended as he is in exile."

Gutless. Try him in absentia. He voluntarily removed himself from the jurisdiction to escape serving a criminal sentence.

[JAG]

At the risk of being howled down - but this is a genuine question - what part in this is Thaksin accused of playing?

[bangrak]

Does the Thai Judiciary system not know rulings 'in Absentia', without statue of limitation, of course! Or is this just a consequence of that silly, and still not yet abrogated (changes and reforms?), rule saying the suspect has to be read the charges to 'in Persona' for the Court to be able to validly start its procedure (while, f.i., starting a case can be done 'by representation' via an attorney...)?

Considering the other sentences spoken out by the Supreme Court in this case, it could have been another 12 to 18 years of inprisonment for Lt.Col., Dr., and ex-'democratic' (LOL) PM Thaksin, with so many cases still waiting for him...

Also, why are defendants found guilty not named, and shamed, just identified by numbers? Just a way to 'protect' them from loss of face, or...?

And, of course, is any of these, very, 'influential people' detained, are there 'already' arrest warrants for them? Or waiting for confirmation they have already left Thailand?

P.S.: ...And they keep writing that Thaksin is 'in exile', quod non!

[webfact]

Ex-KTB top executives Suchai and Viroj given 18 years jailterm



BANGKOK: -- Former top executives of state-owned Krung Thai Bank Suchai Chaovisit and Viroj Nualkhae were today (Wednesday) sentenced to 18 years imprisonment each by the Supreme Court’s criminal division for political office holders for their role in dishonestly extending 9,900 million baht in loans to companies affiliated with Krisda Maha Nakorn Plc.

The court found Mr Suchai, former board chairman of KTB and Mr Viroj, former managing director of the same bank, guilty of malfeasance in office, violations of the law regarding state enterprise employees, commercial bank act, securities and public company laws.

Another bank executive who was involved in extending the controversial loans was also given 18 years imprisonment whereas ten other bank’s credit officers and executives of Krisda Maha Nakorn-affiliated companies who received loans from the KTB were sentenced to 12 years each.

All these companies were ordered by the court to return the money they received to KTB plus interests thereon.

As for the first defendant in this case, former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who did not stand trial because he escaped overseas, the court ordered his arrest in order to stand trial.

KTB extended the loans totaling 9,900 million baht in 2003 during the government of then prime minister Thaksin to KMN’s affiliated firms supposedly to refinance their debts with financial institutes and to buy land plots for real estate projects. However, it was found out that the money they received were used for personal benefits.

Also, it was discovered that these companies had earlier been classified by the KTB as financially-troubled not worthy for loan extension.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/ex-ktb-top-executives-suchai-and-viroj-given-18-years-jailterm


-- Thai PBS 2015-08-26

[PS2]

At the risk of being howled down - but this is a genuine question - what part in this is Thaksin accused of playing?

He ordered the loan.

[Gulfsailor]

At the risk of being howled down - but this is a genuine question - what part in this is Thaksin accused of playing?

From an earlier published Nation article;

"The central claim of the prosecution is that then prime minister Thaksin abused his office to influence the bank's decision to grant loans to real-estate developer Krisda Mahanakorn despite the company's poor credit rating.

The alleged fraudulent deals happened when Viroj Nualkhair, one of the key defendants, was the managing director of KTB.

The deals allegedly involved a scam to bypass the credit rating to allow the bank to arrange loans to proxy companies in order to channel funds to Krisda Mahanakorn. The transactions were subsequently classified as non-performing loans.

The list of defendants can be divided into three groups: Thaksin, as office holder exerting influence over the loans; Viroj and the bank's board of directors; and three companies including Krisda Mahanakorn."

This is also an interesting bit of info from the same article regarding Thaksin's son in this matter;

"Earlier, the graft investigation found that funds from the alleged fraudulent loans had been routed through Panthongtae's bank accounts. The prosecution has decided, however, not to try Panthongtae, who is not an office holder and thus not under the purview of the high court's fast-track process for graft offences"

[clockman]

So it has taken 12 years!

[speedtripler]

Lucky for everyone who got numbers... Eh

8 billion baht scammed and they don't deserve to be named?

[PatOngo]

"The trial against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Defendant No.1, is temporarily suspended as he is in exile".

I would suggest a harshly worded Skype message is in order here in lieu of a trial.

[JAG]

At the risk of being howled down - but this is a genuine question - what part in this is Thaksin accused of playing?

From an earlier published Nation article;

"The central claim of the prosecution is that then prime minister Thaksin abused his office to influence the bank's decision to grant loans to real-estate developer Krisda Mahanakorn despite the company's poor credit rating.

The alleged fraudulent deals happened when Viroj Nualkhair, one of the key defendants, was the managing director of KTB.

The deals allegedly involved a scam to bypass the credit rating to allow the bank to arrange loans to proxy companies in order to channel funds to Krisda Mahanakorn. The transactions were subsequently classified as non-performing loans.

The list of defendants can be divided into three groups: Thaksin, as office holder exerting influence over the loans; Viroj and the bank's board of directors; and three companies including Krisda Mahanakorn."

This is also an interesting bit of info from the same article regarding Thaksin's son in this matter;

"Earlier, the graft investigation found that funds from the alleged fraudulent loans had been routed through Panthongtae's bank accounts. The prosecution has decided, however, not to try Panthongtae, who is not an office holder and thus not under the purview of the high court's fast-track process for graft offences"

Thank you.

I wonder whether any of those sentenced today are currently detained, and indeed whether any will be, unless it be for a token spell in unusually favourable conditions?

[DavisH]

Are they out on bail yet pending appeal?

[gchurch259]

"The trial against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Defendant No.1, is temporarily suspended as he is in exile."

Gutless. Try him in absentia. He voluntarily removed himself from the jurisdiction to escape serving a criminal sentence.

I thought the Army told him not to come back ? Any way they gave him only 2 years for some crime and he will not return. Corruption is a CANCER, cut it out or kill it !!

[inzman]

People of this caliber rarely serve any real time. They will be let on bail and the case will be forgotten while it sits on appeal. They will eventually die after spending the ill gotten loot.

[Denim]

Lucky for everyone who got numbers... Eh

8 billion baht scammed and they don't deserve to be named?

If I remember correctly , Sondhi Limongkul was one of the people who received a hefty handout from this bank...running into millions of baht. He was still unhappy though as it was not enough to cover his debt and he blamed Thaksin for not pushing for a bigger debt right off for him.

Maybe he is one of the lucky numbers you mention.

[EnglishJohn]

Very interesting. We rarely hear of anybody getting convicted - though I'm still not sure that means anything with this bizarre Thai setup of bail and appeals (which seem designed to help those with the money to stay out of jail).

No doubt they are all innocent and it is just politically motivated, or they should not have been prosecuted because lots of people do it so why pick on them.

[FangFerang]

Very interesting. We rarely hear of anybody getting convicted - though I'm still not sure that means anything with this bizarre Thai setup of bail and appeals (which seem designed to help those with the money to stay out of jail).

No doubt they are all innocent and it is just politically motivated, or they should not have been prosecuted because lots of people do it so why pick on them.

No doubt are guilty AND it is politically motivated, and they should have been prosecuted because lots of people do it.

The next non-yellowshirt government will retaliate and pres the cases on the other side.

Same same, nothing different. Except elections will be permanently rigged.

Forever.

[WhizBang]

The trial against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Defendant No.1, is temporarily suspended as he is in exile.

Why not try him in absentia? If he wants to defend himself he can show up. Oh, right. Tough titties then Thaksin.

[scorecard]

Lucky for everyone who got numbers... Eh

8 billion baht scammed and they don't deserve to be named?

If I remember correctly , Sondhi Limongkul was one of the people who received a hefty handout from this bank...running into millions of baht. He was still unhappy though as it was not enough to cover his debt and he blamed Thaksin for not pushing for a bigger debt right off for him.

Maybe he is one of the lucky numbers you mention.

?

[Krataiboy]

Here's a salutary lesson for the West and its kid-glove handling of too-big-to-jail bankers.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Krataiboy

[robblok]

At the risk of being howled down - but this is a genuine question - what part in this is Thaksin accused of playing?

From an earlier published Nation article;

"The central claim of the prosecution is that then prime minister Thaksin abused his office to influence the bank's decision to grant loans to real-estate developer Krisda Mahanakorn despite the company's poor credit rating.

The alleged fraudulent deals happened when Viroj Nualkhair, one of the key defendants, was the managing director of KTB.

The deals allegedly involved a scam to bypass the credit rating to allow the bank to arrange loans to proxy companies in order to channel funds to Krisda Mahanakorn. The transactions were subsequently classified as non-performing loans.

The list of defendants can be divided into three groups: Thaksin, as office holder exerting influence over the loans; Viroj and the bank's board of directors; and three companies including Krisda Mahanakorn."

This is also an interesting bit of info from the same article regarding Thaksin's son in this matter;

"Earlier, the graft investigation found that funds from the alleged fraudulent loans had been routed through Panthongtae's bank accounts. The prosecution has decided, however, not to try Panthongtae, who is not an office holder and thus not under the purview of the high court's fast-track process for graft offences"

Thank you.

I wonder whether any of those sentenced today are currently detained, and indeed whether any will be, unless it be for a token spell in unusually favourable conditions?

I read in the other newspaper that they are all in jail some quite stressed. If they were all guilty guess what the chances are of Thaksin not being guilty.

Good that they ended up in jail finally some hi so criminals in jail its not a little bit of money that they stole.

[robblok]

Very interesting. We rarely hear of anybody getting convicted - though I'm still not sure that means anything with this bizarre Thai setup of bail and appeals (which seem designed to help those with the money to stay out of jail).

No doubt they are all innocent and it is just politically motivated, or they should not have been prosecuted because lots of people do it so why pick on them.

No doubt are guilty AND it is politically motivated, and they should have been prosecuted because lots of people do it.

The next non-yellowshirt government will retaliate and pres the cases on the other side.

Same same, nothing different. Except elections will be permanently rigged.

Forever.

At least this way some criminals end up in jail if the shins had stayed in power these guys who are guilty might never had gone to jail.

Now you won't hear me complain if they can get Suthep on something, all crime should be punished but unfortunately in Thailand you only get punished if your no longer in favor.

[ChrisY1]

I guess the upside is that finally rule of law has been played and it appears that quite a few of the crooks have been given sentences.....obviously, Thaksin will never return to Thailand.....and hopefully a few lessons learned...albeit 12 years after the offences!

[webfact]

COURT
KTB's former chiefs get 18 years jail in loan case
THE NATION



BANGKOK: -- TWO FORMER top executives of state-owned Krungthai Bank were each sentenced to 18 years in jail yesterday for approving a questionable loan of more than Bt9 billion to a property company.

The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders gave the lengthy imprisonment term to KTB's former president Viroj Nualkhair and former board chairman Suchai Chaovisit, in addition to 17 others who were also convicted in the case.

Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was the first defendant in this case, was among the 27 people charged. But the court has suspended the case against him because he has fled the country.

The court also ordered Thaksin's arrest in order for him to stand trial in the case.

The convicts, as officials of the state, were found guilty of colluding to approve the loan dishonestly to subsidiaries of Krisda Mahanakorn Group in 2003, for refinancing and land acquisition. But the loan was used for personal purposes, the court found.

The other defendants convicted in the case include the bank's credit officers and executives of companies affiliated with Krisda Mahanakorn who received loans from KTB. They were sentenced to 12 years each in jail.

The Supreme Court also ordered all the convicts to pay compensation totalling more than Bt10 billion in damages to the bank.

Viroj, aged 68, an eminent merchant banker in his heyday, also served as vice chairman of the troubled Phatra Thanakit financial company. He later became honorary chairman of Phatra Securities.

All 19 people convicted in the case, including Viroj and Suchai, were sent to the Bangkok Remand Prison yesterday.

Prison director Ayut Sinthoppan said some of them were apparently stressed when they were brought to the place after the court's verdict.

He said all of them would spend their first night in prison at the facility. Then those sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment would be sent to the Klong Prem Central Prison.

The director explained that his prison could hold only convicts with jail terms of no more than 12 years. Sixteen of the convicts in this case would remain incarcerated at the Bangkok Remand Prison, he said.

In 2003, KTB extended loans totalling |Bt9.9 billion during the term of the Thaksin government to Krisda Mahanakorn's affiliated firms, supposedly to refinance their debts |with financial institutions and to purchase land plots for those affiliates' real-estate |projects. However, it was found that the money they received was used for personal benefits.

It was also discovered that these companies had earlier been classified by KTB as financially troubled and not worthy of loan extensions.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/politics/KTBs-former-chiefs-get-18-years-jail-in-loan-case-30267545.html


-- The Nation 2015-08-27

[cookee68]

The trial against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Defendant No.1, is temporarily suspended as he is in exile.

Really stupid question I know, has anyone ever considered trying him in absentia?

My thoughts exactly, like when they sentenced him to 2 years as an absentia

[MAJIC]

"The trial against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Defendant No.1, is temporarily suspended as he is in exile".

I would suggest a harshly worded Skype message is in order here in lieu of a trial.

I would suggest more like a conspiracy of silence is evident!

[Ricardo]

"The trial against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Defendant No.1, is temporarily suspended as he is in exile."

Gutless. Try him in absentia. He voluntarily removed himself from the jurisdiction to escape serving a criminal sentence.

I thought the Army told him not to come back ? Any way they gave him only 2 years for some crime and he will not return. Corruption is a CANCER, cut it out or kill it !!

His voluntary decision not to return from attending the Beijing-Olympics appears to have been made long before the coup or army-involvement, back in 2008 in fact, when his brother-in-law & proxy-party PPP were in-power.

However AFAIK trying him in-absentia, and removing the requirement for the defendant to be present when the charges are read out in court, might well be seen as a departure from normal Thai legal-precedents, this might add to claims that all charges against the former-PM are political.

At least the case proceeded, and some of the guilty eventually were sentenced, this time.

Edited August 26, 2015 by Ricardo

[resimi]

Lucky for everyone who got numbers... Eh

8 billion baht scammed and they don't deserve to be named?

If I remember correctly , Sondhi Limongkul was one of the people who received a hefty handout from this bank

Absolutely wrong and libelous.