It would take seven to 15 days for commercial banks to trace where the remaining Bt21 billion related to the Shin Corp-Temasek deal has been transferred, according to the Bank of Thailand, which insists most of the Bt73 billion is still in the country.

The central bank's comment came after commercial banks were ordered by the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) to freeze all bank accounts of Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife as well as 21 bank accounts where proceeds from the sale of Shin Corp shares by the Shinawatra and Damapong families were deposited.

Five members of the two families received Bt73.3 billion from the sale but only Bt52.88 billion is left in the 21 accounts.

The AEC has ordered the banks involved to trace where the remaining Bt21 billion has gone.

AEC secretary Kaewsan Atibodhi said yesterday the AEC had already sent a notice to financial institutions to provide documents relevant to the Shin Corp share sale to the group of investors led by Temasek Holdings.

All the details must include payments in order to probe how the Bt21 billion went missing.

However, the AEC has no authority to trace money channelled overseas.

The AEC yesterday also ordered all the banks to submit their reports on the movements of the 21 frozen bank accounts by Friday - after mysterious withdrawals between June 4 and June 11.

Kaewsan said the owners of the 21 accounts would also need to testify as to what they have done with the withdrawn money.

A sub-committee will be appointed, tentatively to include officials from the Bank of Thailand, to interview the individuals involved.

Suchart Sakkankosone, the central bank's director of Financial Markets Opera-tions Group, said yesterday that although the money was gradually transferred from the 21 accounts, it could be easily traced in only seven to 15 days. Suchart said the information of bank accounts can be traced back for three years.

He said there was no sign that Thaksin and his wife had transferred money out of the country except for the Bt400 million that Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra had asked the BOT to transfer for purchasing a house in London earlier this year.

He noted the remaining proceeds were still in the Kingdom. If they had been transferred out of the country, it would have been noted. But so far, there was no such sign any further funds had been moved, he said.

BOT governor Tarisa Wattanagase also confirmed that the remaining Bt21 billion was still circulating in the country.

She said the AEC has the authority to order commercial banks to freeze all the deposit accounts of the ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife without need for approval from the central bank.

Rachanee Nopmuang, Bangkok Bank's executive vice president, said the four deposit accounts of Thaksin and his family at the bank have been frozen.

While the depositors could not touch the money, they could still enjoy the interest payments.

Rungruang Sukkirdkij-piboon, executive vice president of Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), where the remaining 17 accounts are held, said the bank had set up a special team to monitor the accounts.

"The new team would oversee legal issues, which will inform the bank what we can do [with the accounts] and cannot. It will enable the bank to do businesses in line with the rules," he said.

Normally, SCB has a working unit to oversee legal issues about frozen assets.

Prasarn Trairatvorakul, president of Kasikornbank, said it was ready to co-operate with the AEC though the proceeds were only briefly parked at the bank after the deal in January 2006.

Twatchai Yongkittikul, secretary general of the Thai Bankers Association, said in an interview with TV Channel 5 yesterday that upon recei-ving the order, all banks needed to examine whether the order was issued under a law that governs commercial banks.

In addition, banks also needed to consider whether those who signed the order were authorised persons.

Anoma Srisukkasem,

Somruedi  Banchongduang

The Nation