Seventy years for BBC fraud
Krirk-Kiat, guilty on five counts.
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The Criminal Court yesterday wrapped up a fifth embezzlement case against Krirk-kiat Jalichandra, former president of the now-defunct Bangkok Bank of Commerce (BBC), finding him guilty on five counts and ordered him to serve an additional 45 years in prison and pay damages of Bt211.16 million.
The sentence, when added to his existing sentences, gives Krirk-kiat a total of 70 years behind bars. There are still 22 outstanding criminal cases against him and his associates. Last year, the Southern Bangkok Criminal Court concluded four embezzlement cases against him. In one, it sentenced him to 30 years in prison and fined him Bt3.208 billion, while in the others it handed down a 20-year sentence and fined him Bt119 million. Some of the jail terms are to be served concurrently. Krirk-kiat, 56, was found guilty of embezzlement at the BBC prior to the bank's collapse, which triggered the financial crisis in 1997. Yesterday, the court considered a fifth case, which also saw Krirk-kiat's de facto wife, Pornchan Chankajorn, 51, found guilty of two counts and jailed for a total of 13 years and four months. She was also fined Bt1.333 million. The court also ordered Krirk-kiat to return the sum of Bt93 million to the BBC. The court dismissed a related case against Supaporn Thipyasak, secretary to the president of Thai Fuji Finance and Securities. Supaporn argued she had acted on the orders of her boss and not benefited from any deals. The court decided Krirk-kiat and his partner had violated the Securities and Exchange Act and the Stock Exchange of Thailand Act. Earlier, it heard evidence that Krirk-kiat and his associates embezzled dividend payments worth Bt205 million from Thai Fuji Finance and Securities from 1990-96. Krirk-kiat was accused of ordering his personal secretary to deposit cheques for dividend payments into the accounts of 38 employees, but the money was later withdrawn and deposited into Krirk-kiat's account. The employees denied ever receiving the payments. The court also found the BBC had set up four subsidiaries that jointly established Thai Fuji Finance and Securities, despite Krirk-kiat's claim that he used his personal money to buy shares in the firm. Krirk-kiat's lawyer, Padoong Chantarow, said he would appeal yesterday's decision within 30 days. The BBC's collapse cost taxpayers about Bt200 billion in both liquidity injection and capital compensation. The Criminal Court has now completed hearing five of 27 cases of criminal banking fraud against Krirk-kiat and his associates.
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