Thaksin warned of further probes

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Amy Kazmin in Bangkok and Roger Blitz in London, FT Syndication Service
Thai authorities will not try to block the takeover of the English football team Manchester City by Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted prime minister, but warned of further probes into his assets, including the £81m he used to buy the club.
"Thaksin has the right to do anything he wants, but it should be under the law," Colonel Sansern Kaewkanneod, a military spokesman, told the Financial Times. "We are all wondering where he gets the money for this."
Col Sansern described Mr Thaksin's purchase of the club as a "psychological trick" intended to ensure he remained popular in the Thai public eye, nine months after a military coup that drove him from power.
"He knows Thai people love football, and when he is doing this, he is still the focus of the Thai people," Col Sansern said.
Thai authorities are stepping up efforts to prosecute alleged malfeasance during Mr Thaksin's six-year rule. Hours before the deal was unveiled, Mr Thaksin was charged with corruption over his wife's purchase of a government property, the first formal indictment against him since he was ousted. Investigations into other alleged improprieties are continuing.
But last Friday, a jubilant-looking Mr Thaksin and Manchester City dominated Thai newspapers and television, although reaction reflected the polarisation within Thailand over Mr Thaksin and his leadership.
Kanyarat Boonrueng, a 37-year-old Bangkok garment vendor, was enthusiastic, although she confessed Manchester City was not her favourite team. "It's cool to see a Thai as the chairman of a Premier League football club," she said. "Normally, Manchester City is like a 'supporting actor' of the Premier League. But if the deal is finalised, Thais will be fans of this team."
However, Suwat Wattana, a 38-year-old taxi driver, was unimpressed. "I don't think this will benefit Thailand at all," he said. "And I don't know where the money for this came from - was it from corruption, or not?"
Mr Thaksin told the FT he intended to develop the club internationally, using marketing, merchandise and regional football club academies to "bring the club into the heart and mind of fans, especially in Asia". But he denied courting political support, or popularity, among football-mad Thais. "If I were to be popular, it's because of what I have done for the country."
The deal was almost derailed after Thai authorities froze most of the Shinawatra family's Bt73bn ($2.1bn, euro 1.6bn, £1bn) in profits from their 2006 sale of their telecommunications empire, some of which Mr Thaksin was planning to invest in the club. But Mr Thaksin is understood to have provided guarantees from his personal assets for investment in the club.
Mr Thaksin said the Manchester City board and his financial advisers had verified he had sufficient funds for the takeover and investment, and that the money was "clean".
With the continuing cases against him, Mr Thaksin could still fall foul of Premier League rules, which require club owners to meet "fit and proper person" tests that include scrutiny of any criminal wrongdoing either in the UK or overseas. Mr Thaksin's advisers are said to have sounded out the Premier League and the UK government early in the negotiations.