Bt13 billion seized in rice pledge case, says AMLO

[rooster59]

Bt13 billion seized in rice pledge case, says AMLO

By THE NATION

 

File photo

 

Days before Yingluck verdict, anti-money laundering office boasts of assets frozen in relation to high-profile scandal.

 

LESS THAN a week before the Supreme Court delivers its verdict in the negligence case against ex-prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra, the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) yesterday boasted about its success in seizing or freezing almost Bt13 billion in assets from offenders in a case stemming from the rice-pledging scandal.

 

AMLO secretary-general Chaiya Siriampankul said the case was among the 19 high-profile cases in which the agency followed a money trail and provided public prosecutors with information to seek court orders for confiscation of assets from offenders.

 

Over the past year, AMLO’s work has led to the seizure or freezing of more than Bt40 billion from offenders in those criminal and corruption cases, less than 10 per cent of the total estimated damages of Bt469 billion, according to the agency’s chief.

 

Chaiya told a press conference that one of the high-profile cases stemmed from the previous government’s rice-pledging scheme. The scandal led to more than 100 related cases involving estimated damages of Bt405 billion.

 

AMLO so far has managed to seize assets from people involved in only one of those sub-cases – Bt12.91 billion from wealthy businessman Apichart Chansakulporn, who is better known as “Sia Piang”, and three others, who were accused of involvement in “fake” government-to-government rice-sale deals. 

 

Judgement day

 

The highest court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders is scheduled to deliver its verdict in Yingluck’s case on Friday.

 

 

The government-to-government rice-sale scandal case saw the highest value of seized assets. It was followed by the zero-dollar Chinese tour case, in which the operators of Fuan Travel and OA Transport had a combined Bt9.5 billion of assets seized. 

 

Another high-profile graft case involving the Klong Dan wastewater treatment plant, saw Bt6.35 billion in assets belonging to the offenders seized. It was followed by the Wat Dhammakaya embezzlement case, in which Bt2.34 billion was seized from certain businesspeople involved with the controversial temple. 

 

Another Bt724 million was seized from those involved in the Nataree massage parlour human-smuggling case, where many young migrant women were found to have worked illegally in entertainment venues.

 

AMLO was also instrumental in seizing about Bt500 million from people involved in a narcotics smuggling network led by Laotian drug lord Xaysana Keopimpha, who was arrested at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in January, said Chaiya.

 

The agency also played an important role in confiscation of assets from violators suspected of laundering money – including drug smugglers, embezzlers, online gambling operators, and corrupt foreign officials hiding here, said the secretary-general.

 

Chaiya said that Thailand has improved its performance in enforcing the anti-money laundering law and combating the financing of terrorism. At the latest general assembly of the Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, a review of Thailand showed that the Kingdom achieved a score of 56 per cent, much better than the previous review in 2007, when it got 31 per cent.

 

Thailand was rated “high” and “highest” in 26 out of the 40 items in the review, according to the AMLO chief.

 

He said that in four out of the 11 areas reviewed, the country was in a “substantial level”, comparable to leading performers such as Singapore and Belgium. But Thailand still needed to improve in halting bribe taking, tax evasion, stock manipulation and contraband smuggling.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/national/30324252

 

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-08-19

[Samui Bodoh]

Subtle...

 

A big picture of cash...

 

A big picture of Yingluck...

 

But...

 

12 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

AMLO so far has managed to seize assets from people involved in only one of those sub-cases – Bt12.91 billion from wealthy businessman Apichart Chansakulporn, who is better known as “Sia Piang”, and three others, who were accused of involvement in “fake” government-to-government rice-sale deals. 

 

A few days before the verdict...

 

I am sure that the editing and layout of this story was purely accidental...

[cornishcarlos]

4 minutes ago, Samui Bodoh said:

Subtle...

 

A big picture of cash...

 

A big picture of Yingluck...

 

But...

 

 

A few days before the verdict...

 

I am sure that the editing and layout of this story was purely accidental...

 

Yup.... 

 

Plus nearly 13 billion would surely require space on at least 2 tables for the photo shoot ??

[canuckamuck]

That's a lot of money though, Good news for the citizens, if indeed this money goes back to the national treasury.

 

[ezzra]

I just hope the that justice will prevale and the people who behaved irresponsibly and 

carelessly  with the people's money will be judged accordingly....  

[darksidedog]

Yingluck AND her Government set up the rice pledging scheme. Totally dishonest and corrupt people then abused the system and robbed an estimated 469 Billion baht. It strikes me that it is the people involved with the corruption who should have been chased down, assets frozen and be in court. The fact this is not so, in any major way, has "political prosecution" and witch hunt written all over it.

Edited August 19, 2017 by darksidedog

[AGareth2]

will that buy the tanks?

[YetAnother]

55 minutes ago, canuckamuck said:

That's a lot of money though, Good news for the citizens, if indeed this money goes back to the national treasury.

 

some of it might

[Jimbo in Thailand]

18 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

Yingluck AND her Government set up the rice pledging scheme. Totally dishonest and corrupt people then abused the system and robbed an estimated 469 Billion baht. It strikes me that it is the people involved with the corruption who should have been chased down, assets frozen and be in court. The fact this is not so, in any major way, has "political prosecution" and witch hunt written all over it.

I agree, "witch hunt" sounds spot on to me.  Having lived in Isaan for nearly 12 years now (and being a farang) so obviously not privy to any info regarding her actual performance/daily activities while she was PM, I confess I never thought Yingluck seemed to be very effective in that role.  Well, that is, except for her rice subsidy program meant to help the poor farmers.  I personally witnessed that her 'infamous' program actually did help the starving farmers in my area of Isaan so I'm guessing it also helped farmers in other regions.  Prior to that program, most farmers netted very little for their efforts due to ridiculously low rice pricing schemes set by the government, i.e., ฿6/kg IIRC.  As a result, many farmers were heavily in debt since that pittance didn't even cover the cost of production.  It's sad that Yingluck, simply because of who she is, has been thrown under the bus—for corruption by others that "abused the system".  As we all know, corruption is inherent in every facet of Thai culture/society and continues today unabated, even under Fearless Leader's alleged anti-corruption crusade.  Sad that Yingluck was singled out.  Even if she had ulterior motives,  It's clearly the pot calling the kettle black.

 

Having read many anti-Yingluck comments here at TV I think most farangs don't understand why Yingluck and her infamous brother are so beloved by those in Isaan and the North.  The reason is simple. No PM  ever lifted a finger to help the rural poor.  Sadly, it's long been a 2-class society, the rich vs the poor.  Until it snows a blizzard in Bangkok, the rural poor will continue to suffer so they will always support those who try to help them.

[seajae]

29 minutes ago, Jimbo in Thailand said:

I agree, "witch hunt" sounds spot on to me.  Having lived in Isaan for nearly 12 years now (and being a farang) so obviously not privy to any info regarding her actual performance/daily activities while she was PM, I confess I never thought Yingluck seemed to be very effective in that role.  Well, that is, except for her rice subsidy program meant to help the poor farmers.  I personally witnessed that her 'infamous' program actually did help the starving farmers in my area of Isaan so I'm guessing it also helped farmers in other regions.  Prior to that program, most farmers netted very little for their efforts due to ridiculously low rice pricing schemes set by the government, i.e., ฿6/kg IIRC.  As a result, many farmers were heavily in debt since that pittance didn't even cover the cost of production.  It's sad that Yingluck, simply because of who she is, has been thrown under the bus—for corruption by others that "abused the system".  As we all know, corruption is inherent in every facet of Thai culture/society and continues today unabated, even under Fearless Leader's alleged anti-corruption crusade.  Sad that Yingluck was singled out.  Even if she had ulterior motives,  It's clearly the pot calling the kettle black.

 

Having read many anti-Yingluck comments here at TV I think most farangs don't understand why Yingluck and her infamous brother are so beloved by those in Isaan and the North.  The reason is simple. No PM  ever lifted a finger to help the rural poor.  Sadly, it's long been a 2-class society, the rich vs the poor.  Until it snows a blizzard in Bangkok, the rural poor will continue to suffer so they will always support those who try to help them.

interesting as the little farmers were not included in the scam because they didnt grow enough rice, it was aimed at the bigger growers. There were minimum limits on the amount of rice that had to be sold which small farmers couldnt supply because they didnt have enough land so they never saw any of the money. You also seem to be forgetting or ignoring all the missing rice, rice being brought in from other countries, the govt to govt scam, the rotten rice, etc etc, these are the reason she is being charged because she ignored all the warnings of them happening plus the fact she appointed herself head of the rice scam but never once attended a meeting, she was too busy shopping elsewhere.

Edited August 19, 2017 by seajae

[gk10002000]

Reading up on the basics of the scheme, boy, what a farce with a crazy high risk to reward ratio.  They basically tried to corner the market and manipulate prices, at least on the surface.  And they had a free hand in spending the country's treasury money while attempting it.

[halloween]

Thanks to Yingluk poor farmers got to eat much more expensive food - rice they grew themselves.

 

Now for a little enlightenment re Apichart Chansakulporn.

"Political backing allowed President Agri Trading to grow rapidly during the time that Thaksin Shinawatra was prime minister. Apichart, a former executive of President Agri and the real top manager of both President Agri Trading and Siam Indiga, has close relations with Thaksin."

 

"On January 12, 2010, the company (President Agri)) filed for bankruptcy, as it owed a combined debt of Bt12 billion to nine commercial banks, both Thai and foreign, including Bangkok Bank, Krung Thai Bank, and TMB Bank.

President Agri was also sued by the Public Warehouse Organisation for Bt6 billion in compensation for defaulting on bidding orders in past years."

 

Now how to steal a billion baht without even trying

" Siam Indiga also won part of the government stockpile under the silent-releasing method with total volume of 300,000 tonnes. The rice was set for export under a government-to-government deal to Indonesia only. The bid was Bt11-12 per kilogram compared with the government cost of Bt21-Bt23 per kilo while the market price was Bt15. With this lot alone, the government lost Bt3.3 billion. However, Siam Indiga enjoyed a profit of Bt900 million."

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Former-head-of-troubled-Agri-Trading-stands-to-gai-30192330.html      Nation Oct15, 2012.

 

A Thai court has sentenced a top rice trader believed to have close ties with former premier Thaksin Shinawatra to three years in jail for embezzling rice from state stockpiles.

An official at the district court in Samut Prakan province east of Bangkok said Apichart Chansakulporn, former owner of bankrupt President Agri Trading, was found guilty of failing to deliver 20,000 tonnes of rice to Iran after getting a mandate for the trade from the Commerce Ministry in 2007.

http://af.reuters.com/article/commodities07News/idAFL4N0P60X720140625

Edited August 19, 2017 by halloween

[candide]

6 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Yingluck AND her Government set up the rice pledging scheme. Totally dishonest and corrupt people then abused the system and robbed an estimated 469 Billion baht. It strikes me that it is the people involved with the corruption who should have been chased down, assets frozen and be in court. The fact this is not so, in any major way, has "political prosecution" and witch hunt written all over it.

While I don't desagree with your analysis, I don't know of 469 billion being "robed".

[Jimbo in Thailand]

2 hours ago, seajae said:

interesting as the little farmers were not included in the scam because they didnt grow enough rice, it was aimed at the bigger growers. There were minimum limits on the amount of rice that had to be sold which small farmers couldnt supply because they didnt have enough land so they never saw any of the money. You also seem to be forgetting or ignoring all the missing rice, rice being brought in from other countries, the govt to govt scam, the rotten rice, etc etc, these are the reason she is being charged because she ignored all the warnings of them happening plus the fact she appointed herself head of the rice scam but never once attended a meeting, she was too busy shopping elsewhere.

I'm not forgetting nor ignoring anything seajae.  I'm simply saying the failed program did indeed help the farmers.  Sadly, many factors were at play and it's obvious that rampant corruption indeed ruined the program.  It would be nice if all those miscreants who illegally profited would be brought to justice, but T.I.T.

 

And I'm curious seajae, were you actually present to witness Yingluck "never once attended a meeting, she was too busy shopping elsewhere"?  I'm certainly not trying to whitewash Yingluck, but I do seem to remember that she, whether effective or incompetent, or not,  appeared to be fairly hard working.  I think one of her biggest mistakes was eschewing the limelight and not giving the public timely pertinent updates while she was PM.  Compare that to former PM Abhisit (who she replaced) and current Fearless Leader, both who seem to crave the limelight like a heroin addiction.

 

Cheers from Isaan!

[gummy]

6 hours ago, YetAnother said:

some of it might

and most probably none of it , as most will be spirited away, as if by magic

[lungmi]

I correct seajae. Yingluck never attended a meeting because she wanted to go shopping, she only didn't know what she had to do there.

[seajae]

1 hour ago, Jimbo in Thailand said:

I'm not forgetting nor ignoring anything seajae.  I'm simply saying the failed program did indeed help the farmers.  Sadly, many factors were at play and it's obvious that rampant corruption indeed ruined the program.  It would be nice if all those miscreants who illegally profited would be brought to justice, but T.I.T.

 

And I'm curious seajae, were you actually present to witness Yingluck "never once attended a meeting, she was too busy shopping elsewhere"?  I'm certainly not trying to whitewash Yingluck, but I do seem to remember that she, whether effective or incompetent, or not,  appeared to be fairly hard working.  I think one of her biggest mistakes was eschewing the limelight and not giving the public timely pertinent updates while she was PM.  Compare that to former PM Abhisit (who she replaced) and current Fearless Leader, both who seem to crave the limelight like a heroin addiction.

 

Cheers from Isaan!

mate, the facts are there if you bother to look them up, she has even admitted she never attended any of the meetings herself, in fact she was a no show at many of the govt/parliament assemblies as well, if you were here at the time you would know as she was often photographed on shopping expeditions both inThailand and abroad, have no idea where you get the "she was hard working" because that simply didnt happen. She was in the press constantly with pics, just not doing govt work in many of them. Unfortunately she let her brother organize everything for her which is another reason she in in trouble now, she was a patsy for him, he was the real leader, she was the puppet which is why she never really did all that much where politics were concerned

Edited August 19, 2017 by seajae

[hansnl]

8 hours ago, darksidedog said:

Yingluck AND her Government set up the rice pledging scheme. Totally dishonest and corrupt people then abused the system and robbed an estimated 469 Billion baht. It strikes me that it is the people involved with the corruption who should have been chased down, assets frozen and be in court. The fact this is not so, in any major way, has "political prosecution" and witch hunt written all over it.

Sometimes the head honcho has to shoulder the ultimate blame, which is one of the risk of being the head honcho.

 

 

 

[overherebc]

I think it would be nice if the rice farmers got some of the 13 billion.

[JAG]

2 hours ago, gummy said:

and most probably none of it , as most will be spirited away, as if by magic

Oh, I'm sure much of it will be wisely invested...

Edited August 19, 2017 by JAG

[worgeordie]

5 hours ago, Jimbo in Thailand said:

I agree, "witch hunt" sounds spot on to me.  Having lived in Isaan for nearly 12 years now (and being a farang) so obviously not privy to any info regarding her actual performance/daily activities while she was PM, I confess I never thought Yingluck seemed to be very effective in that role.  Well, that is, except for her rice subsidy program meant to help the poor farmers.  I personally witnessed that her 'infamous' program actually did help the starving farmers in my area of Isaan so I'm guessing it also helped farmers in other regions.  Prior to that program, most farmers netted very little for their efforts due to ridiculously low rice pricing schemes set by the government, i.e., ฿6/kg IIRC.  As a result, many farmers were heavily in debt since that pittance didn't even cover the cost of production.  It's sad that Yingluck, simply because of who she is, has been thrown under the bus—for corruption by others that "abused the system".  As we all know, corruption is inherent in every facet of Thai culture/society and continues today unabated, even under Fearless Leader's alleged anti-corruption crusade.  Sad that Yingluck was singled out.  Even if she had ulterior motives,  It's clearly the pot calling the kettle black.

 

Having read many anti-Yingluck comments here at TV I think most farangs don't understand why Yingluck and her infamous brother are so beloved by those in Isaan and the North.  The reason is simple. No PM  ever lifted a finger to help the rural poor.  Sadly, it's long been a 2-class society, the rich vs the poor.  Until it snows a blizzard in Bangkok, the rural poor will continue to suffer so they will always support those who try to help them.

Helping the poor, or using taxpayers money to buy votes.

regards worgeordie

[halloween]

Can any of the Yingluk apologists here tell me why a rice trader is needed for G2G organised sales? Are there not public servants who can perform this function from whichever dept? In one deal to Indonesia, only 300,000t, the already huge loss was increased by B900 million, about a 33% increase.

 

Until it can be shown that public service could not possibly do this, I will regard these agent fees as the Shinawatra profit from their rice scam.

[lemonjelly]

Blowing billions on overpriced rice from Thai farmers & millers to win votes vs blowing billions on toys from China to.......... ? Draw your own conclusions.


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[wakeupplease]

Same old same old from the same old, time to grow up and move on you but you cannot. Release date says it all.

Edited August 19, 2017 by wakeupplease

[Samui Bodoh]

48 minutes ago, worgeordie said:

Helping the poor, or using taxpayers money to buy votes.

regards worgeordie

 

Respectfully, could you tell me the politician who DOESN'T use tax-payer money to buy votes?

 

If Jesus and Buddha somehow melded into one person, they would still throw a couple of dollars at a close campaign.

 

Cheers

 

[moe666]

5 hours ago, Jimbo in Thailand said:

I'm not forgetting nor ignoring anything seajae.  I'm simply saying the failed program did indeed help the farmers.  Sadly, many factors were at play and it's obvious that rampant corruption indeed ruined the program.  It would be nice if all those miscreants who illegally profited would be brought to justice, but T.I.T.

 

And I'm curious seajae, were you actually present to witness Yingluck "never once attended a meeting, she was too busy shopping elsewhere"?  I'm certainly not trying to whitewash Yingluck, but I do seem to remember that she, whether effective or incompetent, or not,  appeared to be fairly hard working.  I think one of her biggest mistakes was eschewing the limelight and not giving the public timely pertinent updates while she was PM.  Compare that to former PM Abhisit (who she replaced) and current Fearless Leader, both who seem to crave the limelight like a heroin addiction.

 

Cheers from Isaan!

 The only problem with the rice pledging scam was the fact you cannot buy rice or any other product at more than double the price for very long. The scam was set up for big growers, millers and warehouse owners. The storage of all that rice cost billions. If poor small farmers were doing better just a trickle down affect.

[TheLobster]

8 hours ago, worgeordie said:

using taxpayers money to buy votes.

regards worgeordie

This happens all over the world. In the UK there was the Pensioner Bonds at 4% interest and then the Corbyn pledge to end fees and restore grants for students.

 

 

[Happy Time Thai]

19 hours ago, canuckamuck said:

That's a lot of money though, Good news for the citizens, if indeed this money goes back to the national treasury.

 

Thanks buddy, it's been awhile since I had a truly sincere chuckle....

[Dave67]

What a load of total <deleted> as if the money seized was in cash. Must have been a busy day at the ATM

[Ricardo]

13 hours ago, lemonjelly said:

Blowing billions on overpriced rice from Thai farmers & millers to win votes vs blowing billions on toys from China to.......... ? Draw your own conclusions.

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

 

Blowing hundreds of billions on overpriced-rice over three years   vs  blowing tens of billions on military-hardware over several years ?