Auditor General Jaruvan Maintaka vowed yesterday to probe alleged corruption by the deposed government after the Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy (CDRM) secured her status.

On Wednesday, the CDRM dissolved the State Audit Commission, which had been the supervisory body of the Auditor-General's Office.

The new military leaders entrusted Jaruwan with full authority to pursue investigations into 14 cases of alleged corruption that occurred during governments overseen by ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

"A big issue is the graft scandal involving the CTX bomb scanners' purchase that can be concluded within the next few days," Jaruvan said. "I believe, with the evidence we have, we can punish those who are corrupt."

Other graft allegations include rail links to Suvarnabhumi Airport, the sell-off of Thaksin family's shares in Shin Corp to Singapore's Temasek Holdings and alleged corruption in donations to fishing communities affected by the tsunami. All would be investigated before the findings are passed to the CDRM, she said.

Several owners of fishing trawlers had complained that they had not received any assistance money from public donations, she explained. After dissolution of the SAC, Jaruwan said she would establish new commissioners to assist her in ensuring the investigations proceed effectively.

A source said this should enable Jaruwan to do her work smoothly because a majority of the former State Audit commissioners were believed to be friends of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra - and they often disrupted her work.

The source said the authorities were also waiting to see if Thaksin's children should pay tax on shares sold in the Bt73-billion Shin Corp take-over, before the deadline for mid-year tax payments at the end of September - by the end of next week.

The Auditor General's Office had earlier asked Revenue Department officials to explain why the department decided not to tax Panthongtae and Pinthongta Shinawatra, Thaksin's eldest children, for Shin stock transactions.

Panthongtae and Pinthongta purchased Shin Corp shares from Ample Rich Investment, a firm registered in the British Virgin Islands, for only Bt1 each before selling them for Bt49.25 to Temasek of Singapore on the following trading day.

Some tax experts have claimed that Panthongtae and Pinthongta should have been subject to capital gains tax of more than Bt5.8 billion from this transaction.

Meanwhile, Paiboon Warahapaitoon, secretary-general at the Constitution Court, said that about 30 cases awaiting rulings would be dismissed because the CDRM had ordered the court to be dissolved.

Key cases involved the dissolution of five political parties and the interpretation of qualifications of five nominees for the National Counter Corruption Commission.

Election Commission (EC) member Sumet Oupanisakorn said that although the CDRM had kept the EC's status - despite cancelling the Constitution - the commission could only manage local elections.

The CDRM disqualified Members of Parliament shortly after seizing power from the Thaksin government in a bloodless coup. The Council has said it wants an interim government to oversee a revamp the Constitution and staging of a new poll by October 2007.