AEC submits 50,000 pages

The Assets Examination Committee (AEC) yesterday submitted more than 50,000 pages to the Attorney-General's Office that it says implicates ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, son Panthongtae and former board members of Krung Thai Bank (KTB) in alleged loan irregularities extended to the Krisda Mahanakorn Group.

It also attacked the Revenue Department for failing to collect tax related to Shin Corp from Bhanapot Damapong - stepbrother of Pojaman Shinawatra - and Panthongtae and Pin-thongta Shinawatra.

The AEC, formed by the previous government to investigate corruption cases against Thaksin and  supporters, is racing time to complete its investigation. On June 30, its mandate will expire, and it will have to hand over all of the corruption cases it is investigating to the National Counter Corruption Commission.

Other important cases include the Airport Link project, the procurement of fire trucks and fire boats by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration and the Ua Athorn housing project for the poor. AEC member Sak Korsaengreung said it was also working on a case involving the "irregular" purchase of 90 million rubber saplings during the Thaksin government. This case, which still needs fine-tuning, will go for trial in the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.

AEC member Saowanee Assawaroj and her team made their way to the Attorney-General's Office to file the corruption case against Thaksin and 31 others in KTB's alleged irregular loan of Bt4.5 billion to Krisda Mahanakorn. The AEC's filing consisted of 262 files in 34 boxes. They were delivered to the Special Litigation Department headed by Seksan Bangsom-boon.

Seksan said he would report the filing of the case to Attorney-General Chaikasem Nitisiri, so that a working panel could be formed to work on it. It will take about 30 days for public prosecutors to determine whether there is enough evidence to go ahead and take on this case or to drop it altogether.

"We're not feeling any pressure, because we're only performing our duty," Seksan said.

Apart from Thaksin and Panthongtae, other individuals implicated in KTB's loan include Suchai Jaovisidha, former executive chairman of the bank; Viroj Nualkhair, former president; Matchima Kunchorn na Ayutthaya, a former board member; Kanchana Honghern, secretary to Pojaman; Wanchai Honghern, husband of Kanchan; and Manop Thivaree, father of Sitha Thivaree.

The AEC yesterday also discussed a question posed by two commercial banks that have frozen more than Bt65 billion in cash belonging to the Shinawatra family for more than a year by order of the AEC. The banks said the owners of the money had threatened to file both civil and criminal lawsuits if they were not allowed to withdraw the money.

The AEC, in a letter to Bank of Thailand Governor Tarisa Watanagase, insisted the money remain frozen while the judicial process was still underway.