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Published on August 31, 2007

Udom Fuangfung, chairman of the AEC panel probing the irregularities in the lottery scheme, said that of the Bt37 billion, Bt15 billion was misused by the Government Lottery Office (GLO).

That sum included the tax income from gambling that the GLO should have submitted to the Interior Ministry at 10 per cent - it gave only 0.5 per cent - and the 7-per-cent value-added tax that the Finance Ministry should have received from the lottery sale.

"The Thaksin Cabinet, which approved this lottery scheme, must be solely responsible for the damage and some GLO officials will shoulder responsibility for the damage that they approved," he said.

The AEC will ask the Finance and Interior ministries to file complaints against those responsible, Udom added.

Meanwhile, the AEC will decide on Monday whether to unfreeze Bt140,000 in assets of a legal firm hired by the Shinawatra family to fight a tax-evasion case. The AEC froze the assets by taking recourse in the anti-money laundering law after it suspected the money was proceeds from the Shin sale.

Ekkamol Boonyawairot, a representative from the firm, complained to the AEC, saying the money frozen was the fee the Shinawatra family paid his firm for legal consultancy.

Also, the chairman of an AEC sub-panel looking into the fire-trucks procurement scandal hinted yesterday at "not implicating more people" in its final decision to be submitted to the AEC on Monday.

"There will be no implicating of other people in the sub-panel's final decision," said Prasert Bunsri. Asked what he would do if the general AEC committee disagreed with the decision his sub-panel made, he said: "Let's wait and see."

The Prasert sub-panel on Wednesday found that former commerce minister Watana Muangsook was not guilty in performing his role in the procurement process.

Budsarakham    Sinlapalavan

 The Nation