Generous Thaksin digs deep

He is spending his own money to help struggling people.

Thaksin has paid all the medical bills for heartthrob luk tung singer Yodrak Salakjai, who is suffering from liver cancer. The former PM is also giving financial support to the Thailand national football team's bid to get to the World Cup.

The Guardian website reported last week that new national team coach Peter Reid's salary could be bankrolled in part by Manchester City owner Thaksin.

The Guardian said Football Association of Thailand president Worawi Makudi had hinted as much earlier last week. "Thaksin loves football, he loves his country and he has offered to help us, with anything," Worawi was reported as saying. That could include Reid's salary.

His kindness is not the only surprising thing.

Thaksin was ousted from power and went into exile for one and a half years. His assets were frozen and he has been charged, or is in the process of being charged, with corruption. Yet he just seems to get richer.

The billionaire is now the country's 16th wealthiest person and US$100 million (Bt3.35 billion) richer than last year, with a fortune of $400 million, Forbes magazine revealed last Thursday.

But the true value of his fortune is much higher when you include the Bt69 billion in frozen assets, largely from the 2006 sale of his telecom company Shin Corp to Singapore's Temasek Holdings.

What is curious is how the extra $100 million came about.

Sansanee Nakpong, Thaksin's personal spokeswoman, jumped to her boss's defence, saying it was probably interest earned on his savings and investments.

It could spell bad news for Thaksin, though. Wichai Vivitsevee, a member of the National Counter Corruption Commission, feels the sum is considerable, and should any NCCC member have any doubts, it could be investigated. Forbes, which released the information, could be called in as a witness, Wichai says.

But in the merry-go-round that is the Thaksin saga, there may instead be good news today. The NCCC will meet to rule on whether it has the authority to continue to freeze the Bt69 billion.

Wichai, who was assigned to study the question of jurisdiction, concedes the NCCC has less authority than the AEC, especially in respect of the laws to fight money laundering, which are applied by the Anti-Money Laundering Office.

"If the law does not give us the authority to freeze the assets, we have to return them to him," Wichai said.

If Thaksin's frozen assets end up lining his pockets again, will political tempers reach boiling point once more?

jintana@nationgroup.com