The Assets Examination Committee (AEC) is probing whether Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra, wife of deposed prime minister Thaksin, bought a plot of land at a reasonable price and whether the purchase was a conflict of interest as there seemed to be irregularities, AEC secretary Kaewsan Atibodhi said yesterday.

He said the purchase might have had some irregularities as many bidders competed in the first auction, but it was later cancelled. A Bt100-million deposit was also added to the next auction and three bidders competed, offering similar prices for the land plot.

The AEC is probing whether Pojaman violated the law with her Bt772-million purchase of land on Ratchadaphisek Road in Bangkok.

 "When the price was claimed to be in line with the appraisal at Bt1.4 billion, the AEC must verify whether the appraisal was correct, as the price was estimated by the Treasury Department, which was not the market price, and it was a lot lower than the appraisal by the Department of Lands. It needs to check what the principle is. Sometimes they used the debt total, sometimes they used the appraisal, but what is the principle? These facts have yet to be investigated," he said.

The purchase was a possible conflict of interest as the Counter Corruption Act Article 100 prohibits state officials and their spouses from engaging in contractual agreements with state agencies.

However, Bank of Thailand (BOT) Assistant Governor Phairoj Hengsakul, who is also a manager of the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF), said yesterday the BOT had asked the National Counter-Corruption Commission (NCCC) for their opinion on the land purchase documents.

Former BOT governor MR Pridiyathorn Devakula had requested the NCCC to comment on whether it violated the Counter Corruption Act Article 100 before signing the contract. One of the NCCC members said the sale and purchase of the land plot was legal, Phairoj said.

"Before the sale and purchase, the former BOT governor consulted related people, including the Council of State, the NCCC and prosecutors but we haven't found any written evidence," he said.

He said the purchase should be legal as the contractual partner was not involved with the finance minister who held the shares of the FIDF. Nevertheless, court judges would have to interpret the law.

The FIDF did everything according to the law but he didn't know whether there was any conspiracy over the price, he said.

Pridiyathorn, now a Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, said last week that Pojaman's land purchase was transparent.