Thailand to seize Thaksin's bank accounts
Friday, 13 July 2007
Amy Kazmin
BANGKOK: Thailand's military-installed regime said early this week it would seize 21 bank accounts, holding an estimated Bt52.9bn ($1.6bn), belonging to Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted former prime minister, and his wife, as it ratcheted up its battle against the exiled politician.
In a nationally televised briefing, anti-corruption investigators said Mr Thaksin, who was a billionaire telecommunications mogul before he became premier in 2001, had abused his position to "illegally" enrich his family's business empire, which they said justified the temporary freezing of the money.
Although no formal charges have yet been filed, the anti-graft committee, established after the military coup, said its investigations showed that "Thaksin and his cronies had been corrupt and had committed wrong-doings".
However, the investigators said Mr. Thaksin, who has, in effect, been barred from returning to Thailand since the coup, could challenge the seizure and reclaim his funds if their origins were proven to be legitimate.
The dramatic move, which comes days after an estimated 15,000 anti-coup protesters surrounded the army's Bangkok headquarters, marks a big escalation of the coup-makers' battle against the charismatic former prime minister, who remains very popular among the rural poor.
"They are taking the gloves off now," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a Chulalongkorn University political scientist. "They are going all out after him - making sure that he is politically finished and financially constrained."
Noppadol Pattama, Mr. Thaksin's Bangkok-based lawyer, attacked the seizure as "illegal and unfair", calling it a "political decision that will jeopardise not only the Shinawatra family but also the image of Thailand in the international arena".
He told the Financial Times that the seizure could prompt Mr Thaksin to return to Thailand to fight the move - an event that would certainly unsettle the army, which is wary of his popular appeal.
The move could also affect Mr. Thaksin's potential bid for Manchester City, the UK football club. Mr. Thaksin approached the Premier league club in May. In a statement Monday the club said it was monitoring the developments in Thailand and in discussions with the former prime minister's advisers.
Mr. Thaksin, the founder of Shin Corp, the largest Thai telecommunications company, and his Thai Rak Thai (Thais love Thais) party, rose to power in 2001, riding a wave of popular discontent with hardships after the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
As premier, he won over the rural poor and urban workers with cheap health care and easy access to credit but urban elites accused him of adopting policies to profit Shin Corp, the family business empire. His family's Bt73bn tax-free profit from its sale of Shin Corp to Singapore's Temasek Holdings last year triggered massive street protests, which culminated in the military coup.
Since then, the government, which has promised fresh elections and a restoration of democracy by the end of the year, has struggled to destroy Mr. Thaksin's political prospects, claiming the need to promote the "rule of law" and to root out corruption.
Two weeks ago, a military-appointed tribunal dissolved Thai Rak Thai and banned 111 of its top executives, including Mr. Thaksin, from politics for five years, for alleged electoral fraud.
Mr. Thaksin is suspected by the military of helping to finance recent anti-coup protests led by his political allies, including former Thai Rak Thai members. But rather than deflate the protests, analysts said the asset seizure could anger millions of Thaksin loyalists and raise his profile in undermining the military.
"This will rally a lot more people," said Pasuk Pongpaichit, author of a biography of Mr. Thaksin. "They can use this as fodder to say that injustice is becoming even greater."
The anti-graft investigators have identified 21 locally held bank accounts to freeze, but Mr. Pasuk said she believed Mr. Thaksin almost certainly had significant assets abroad.
In addition to freezing the 21 accounts with what it says are the remaining profits from the sale of Shin Corp, the anti-graft committee has asked Bangkok banks and financial institutions to freeze other accounts belonging to the couple, pending inquiries.
Under syndication arrangement with FE
BANGKOK: Thailand's military-installed regime said early this week it would seize 21 bank accounts, holding an estimated Bt52.9bn ($1.6bn), belonging to Thaksin Shinawatra, the ousted former prime minister, and his wife, as it ratcheted up its battle against the exiled politician.
In a nationally televised briefing, anti-corruption investigators said Mr Thaksin, who was a billionaire telecommunications mogul before he became premier in 2001, had abused his position to "illegally" enrich his family's business empire, which they said justified the temporary freezing of the money.
Although no formal charges have yet been filed, the anti-graft committee, established after the military coup, said its investigations showed that "Thaksin and his cronies had been corrupt and had committed wrong-doings".
However, the investigators said Mr. Thaksin, who has, in effect, been barred from returning to Thailand since the coup, could challenge the seizure and reclaim his funds if their origins were proven to be legitimate.
The dramatic move, which comes days after an estimated 15,000 anti-coup protesters surrounded the army's Bangkok headquarters, marks a big escalation of the coup-makers' battle against the charismatic former prime minister, who remains very popular among the rural poor.
"They are taking the gloves off now," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, a Chulalongkorn University political scientist. "They are going all out after him - making sure that he is politically finished and financially constrained."
Noppadol Pattama, Mr. Thaksin's Bangkok-based lawyer, attacked the seizure as "illegal and unfair", calling it a "political decision that will jeopardise not only the Shinawatra family but also the image of Thailand in the international arena".
He told the Financial Times that the seizure could prompt Mr Thaksin to return to Thailand to fight the move - an event that would certainly unsettle the army, which is wary of his popular appeal.
The move could also affect Mr. Thaksin's potential bid for Manchester City, the UK football club. Mr. Thaksin approached the Premier league club in May. In a statement Monday the club said it was monitoring the developments in Thailand and in discussions with the former prime minister's advisers.
Mr. Thaksin, the founder of Shin Corp, the largest Thai telecommunications company, and his Thai Rak Thai (Thais love Thais) party, rose to power in 2001, riding a wave of popular discontent with hardships after the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
As premier, he won over the rural poor and urban workers with cheap health care and easy access to credit but urban elites accused him of adopting policies to profit Shin Corp, the family business empire. His family's Bt73bn tax-free profit from its sale of Shin Corp to Singapore's Temasek Holdings last year triggered massive street protests, which culminated in the military coup.
Since then, the government, which has promised fresh elections and a restoration of democracy by the end of the year, has struggled to destroy Mr. Thaksin's political prospects, claiming the need to promote the "rule of law" and to root out corruption.
Two weeks ago, a military-appointed tribunal dissolved Thai Rak Thai and banned 111 of its top executives, including Mr. Thaksin, from politics for five years, for alleged electoral fraud.
Mr. Thaksin is suspected by the military of helping to finance recent anti-coup protests led by his political allies, including former Thai Rak Thai members. But rather than deflate the protests, analysts said the asset seizure could anger millions of Thaksin loyalists and raise his profile in undermining the military.
"This will rally a lot more people," said Pasuk Pongpaichit, author of a biography of Mr. Thaksin. "They can use this as fodder to say that injustice is becoming even greater."
The anti-graft investigators have identified 21 locally held bank accounts to freeze, but Mr. Pasuk said she believed Mr. Thaksin almost certainly had significant assets abroad.
In addition to freezing the 21 accounts with what it says are the remaining profits from the sale of Shin Corp, the anti-graft committee has asked Bangkok banks and financial institutions to freeze other accounts belonging to the couple, pending inquiries.
Under syndication arrangement with FE