Prosecutors drop SC Asset Case

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court yesterday issued a fifth arrest warrant for Thaksin after he failed to appear at trial for a case in which he is accused of amending tax policy to benefit his family's business empire.

Thanapit Mulaphruek, spokesman for the Attorney-General's Office, told a press conference that public prosecutors had on October 6 formally informed the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) about the decision not to indict Thaksin and Pojaman in the share-concealment case.

He explained that Thaksin and Pojaman had conducted their share transactions through a fund run by Thanachart Securities, and therefore they should not be held responsible for the fund's failure to report on their share transactions.

"It was not the duty of Thaksin and Pojaman to report, as has been stated in the allegation," said the spokesman.

The DSI had brought the case to the Attorney-General's Office, accusing the Shinawatra couple and two others of violating the Securities and Stock Exchange Act.

"If the DSI director-general agrees with the public prosecutors' decision, the case is over. If not, the case will be referred to the attorney-general for a final decision," Thanapit said.

The decision to drop the case came after four postponements in the case since April.

Sunai Manomai-udom, then director-general of the DSI and in charge of the SC Asset investigation from the outset, was transferred from his position shortly after the pro-Thaksin People Power Party came to power early this year.

Thaksin and Pojaman fled to the United Kingdom in August after jumping bail in a corruption case. They are seeking political asylum in the UK, claiming they could not be assured of a fair trial on the corruption charges against them.

"The defendant failed to appear before the court without informing us," Supreme Court judge Pongphet Vichitchonchai said yesterday.

"It shows his intention to escape [the charges]. The court has decided to issue an arrest warrant against him."

As there is no indication of when Thaksin plans to return to his homeland, the court also temporarily suspended the case.

The case is related to Advanced Info Service (AIS), Thailand's biggest mobile-phone operator and a subsidiary of Shin Corp, which was founded by Thaksin.

The Assets Examination Committee accused the former premier of changing a telecoms concession fee into an excise tax in 2003, saving AIS a large sum of money as a result.

Thaksin later sold his family's stake in Shin Corp to Singapore's state-owned investment unit Temasek Holdings for Bt76 billion. If found guilty, Thaksin risks seizure of this sum, a large portion of which has been frozen in local commercial banks.

The courts have issued four other arrest warrants against Thaksin on a series of corruption cases.