The source, who did not want to be named, revealed that the AEC committee meeting last week had seriously discussed whether to indict the whole Cabinet as suggested by some members. "The labour unions of CAT Telecom and TOT asked us to investigate the exercise of power, not the increase in Thaksin Shinawatra's assets, after the Cabinet decision [to convert telecom concession fees to excise tax]. But the AEC decided to indict only Thaksin as we can indict the others later," the AEC source said.

The source also said the entire Cabinet should be held accountable, especially former information and communication technology minister Surapong Suebwonglee as he was the one who had proposed the idea to the Cabinet.

An AEC fact-finding committee chaired by Kaewsan Atibhodi found probable cause to suspect graft violations stemming from the 2003 move. The panel recommended the AEC launch an indictment hearing to name the culprits and spell out charges - a mandatory pre-trial step.

Last Tuesday, the AEC agreed that Thaksin should be charged with malfeasance. The Cabinet's decision, which was recently revoked by the current government, allowed all private telecom operators to deduct part of their concession fees to be paid as excise before sharing the remaining concession fees with the state concession owners.

The AEC had earlier indicted the whole cabinet for its resolution in the rubber sapling project.

In a separate case, the AEC is scheduled to consider appointing an investigation panel for alleged irregularities related to the Airport Link project.

Kaewsan, who chairs the fact-finding panel, said the committee found the State Railway of Thailand had a contract to pay Bt1.6 billion to the contractor but actually paid only Bt400 million while Bt1.2 billion was missing.

The AEC is also scheduled today to consider its fact-finding committee's proposal to indict Thaksin and his wife Pojaman for her Ratchadaphisek land purchase.

However, chairman of the fact-finding committee, Udom Fuangfung, said the AEC must first consider whether to accept their rebuttals. Thaksin and his wife Pojaman let their lawyer, Pichit Chuenban, rebut the sub-committee's conclusion and Udom's remark that the land could be seized.

Pichit said Udom's statement that the panel would recommend the court seize the land was "unlawful and lacked morality".

Udom said the AEC did not force the Financial Institutions Development Fund, a branch of the Bank of Thailand (BOT) that sold the land to Pojaman, to file a complaint against the accused people but the BOT governor had agreed to file a complaint based on the panel's conclusion.

He said Thaksin did watch over the FIDF when he was in the post. If he didn't, he would not have claimed many of his accomplishments by praising the FIDF in his weekly radio programmes.

Bancha Khaengkhan

The Nation