The National Counter Corruption Commission yesterday said it had found adequate grounds to seek prosecution of former deputy permanent secretary Nibhat Bhukkanasut on allegations of being unusually rich.

Nibhat served as economic adviser to the ousted Thaksin Shinawatra government.

NCCC chairman Panthep Klanarongran said the commission ruled the suspect was unusually rich on three grounds:

lThe suspect received six cheques worth Bt30 million from a company that was granted a real-estate contract to develop state land.

lThe wife of the suspect had received Bt14 million claiming it to be money from the sale of land but no actual land sale had taken place.

lThe suspect and his wife have Bt49 million in banks and could not explain how they had made the money.

Panthep said the NCCC decided to submit the investigation file to the attorney-general to file a suit in court.

Nibhat, a former Treasury director-general, was dismissed from the civil service for receiving payments from Nam Mahitirat, chairman of Sunflower Co, the parent company of the Sun Estate project, to approve the project.

The Sun Estate project, located on a 63-rai plot at the former Mor Chit bus terminal on Phaholyothin road, was envisioned to serve as the country's biggest transport hub and included plans for a commercial office centre, shopping complex and a new bus terminal. But the project concession, which was signed in 1996, later became mired in a corruption scandal.

The then NCCC had made the case for investigating alleged corruption by Nibhat with the Office of the Attorney-General but the office dropped the case in 2001 on grounds it lacked incriminating evidence.

NCCC commissioner Klanarong Chantik said the agency had decided to transfer four corruption investigation cases it has been handling to the Asset Examination Committee. The cases are the corruption over the breeding of rubber samplings totalling 90 million tonnes, the CTX bomb-scanners, procurement of fire-fighting equipment and tax evasion in the Shin Corp sale.

Panthep said Thaksin's cabinet members are required to make their asset declarations before October 18. Failure to declare the assets on time will lead to a ban from politics for five years.

He said so far politicians in the Thaksin Cabinet had submitted 112 accounts in three scenarios: before assuming their posts, after leaving their post and a year after leaving their post. Deposed premier Thaksin has submitted about eight accounts.