'No record of transfer of Bt10 bn'

Tarisa Watanagase said the Shinawatra family had made two requests to the Bank of Thailand to transfer money out of the country - once to buy a condominium in the UK and the second time to buy a house there.

"We have yet to examine how the money to be used to buy Manchester City was transferred to Thaksin's bank accounts in London and Switzerland," she said.

Earlier, a source said the Anti-Money Laundering Office had received a report from its UK counterpart that Thaksin had some Bt10 billion deposited in bank accounts in the UK and Switzerland.

Thaksin never reported these huge deposits in overseas bank accounts in his assets declarations while prime minister.

However, Tarisa said there could be an investigation into Thaksin's money overseas only if there was proof that it was gained through wrongdoing or illegal means.

"At the moment, there is no request from any organisation for the central bank to trace the money transactions," she added.

Thaksin has set up UK Sports Investments (UKSIL) and UKSI Holdings in the United Kingdom for the purpose of buying Manchester City FC for £81.6 million (Bt5.6 billion). Thaksin, his son Panthongtae, daughter Pinthongta and Thai businesswoman Sasin Monvoisin serve as directors of both companies.

According to the tender document, UKSIL was incorporated as a private limited-liability company in England and Wales on May 31, 2007, with registration number 06264894. UKSIL has issued 4,511,470 ordinary shares of £1 each. All of the share capital is held by UKSI Holdings, a holding company.

UKSI Holdings was incorporated as a private limited-liability company in England and Wales with registration number 06283022. UKSI Holdings has the same directors as UKSIL.

Thaksin holds 57 ordinary shares of £100 pounds each in UKSI Holdings, Panthongtae and Pinthongta each hold 2,845 £100 shares and Pramaisuri Property Co Ltd holds 41,667 preference shares of £600 each with very limited voting rights.

The tender document indicated that Pramaisuri Property is a Thai-registered company controlled by Thaksin and his immediate family. It is a limited company incorporated in Thailand with registration number 0105533023436, whose headquarters are located at 1291/1 Phaholyothin Road, Bangkok.

The Assets Examination Committee ordered Pramaisuri to freeze its financial transactions after it found that Panthongtae and Pinthongta had shifted money from the bank accounts that were frozen to the property firm for a capital increase.

Thaksin has vowed to go ahead with the Manchester City takeover in spite of the freeze of his bank accounts in Thailand and well as pending criminal cases against him related to alleged conflicts of interest, corruption and other offences.

According to the tender document, "All the allegations made by the Assets Examination Committee and other Thai prosecutory agencies are entirely refuted by Thaksin and his family, and he will be vigorously defending all of such allegations. Formal court hearings in relation to such allegations have yet to be heard. The first formal court hearing is scheduled for around July 10, 2007."

Sasin, 58, is the wife of Vikrom Khumphairoj, former Thai ambassador to Britain, and acts as Thaksin's personal assistant for business he conducts within the UK. Pictures widely circulated on the Internet show Sasin and Thaksin standing in front of a coffee shop in London shortly after he was deposed in a military coup.

Sasin has experience in international business. She is a director of a fashion company that acts as the Thailand distributor for Club 21, one of the leading fashion retail firms in the Asia-Pacific region.

Club 21 has more than 30 designer brands including Calvin Klein, DKNY, Mulberry, MaxMara, Paul Smith, Mambo and DIESEL under its umbrella. It also has a wholesale division and retail outlets in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia, UK and the US.

Seymour Pierce is providing financial advice to UKSIL and the UKSIL directors in respect of the takeover offer.