Jaruvan said the Council for Democratic Reform (CDR) chief legal adviser Meechai Ruchuphan, had called to tell her the committee could propose changes in its authority or scope of work. It should also inform the CDR of the problems to solve so the committee could work effectively.

Therefore, she invited former senator Seree Suwanpanont to be an adviser to the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) for the cases in question.

"Sawat wanted to know what the OAG has and hasn't done, as it could be a problem in the future. Some cases have been sent to the National Counter-Corruption Commission (NCCC). The Bank of Thailand Governor Pridiyathorn Devakula also said that studying all issues the OAG is working on couldn't be finished in one year," Jaruvan said.

"The chairman is a law expert and said we couldn't study all the cases - but I'm an accountant and might be more open. But there's been no conflict," she added.

Jaruvan said the committee should be able to investigate the sales of the shares of Shin Corp as well as seize the related assets.

Meanwhile, Sawat, sitting next to Jaruvan at the OAG press conference, said the committee must stick to the law in investigating the personal behaviour of people in the ousted government, besides the approved projects.

Jaruvan said although the law did not allow the committee to seize assets, other organisations could. Moreover, the frequency of the meetings should be increased to more than once a week due to the limited time.

The CDR appointed the committee last Sunday and authorised it to examine the projects approved by the ousted Cabinet within one year, before passing the work on to other related agencies.

Seree, who also attended the press conference, said the work of the committee might overlap other agencies' work and make it redundant. On the other hand, the committee should enhance the work of existing agencies working on asset investigation.

"A CDR statement is equal to law, so it's changeable. In my opinion, it has so many problems, the CDR should terminate the committee and let the existing agencies work to their fullest. I will collect these suggestions and propose them to the CDR," he said.

Nerisa Nerykhiew

The Nation