Govt will fight jet case in court: Kasit

Rules out providing €20m bank guarantee; will provide clear evidence on ownership status of Boeing

The government would not deposit €20 million in the German court for release of the Boeing 737 often flown by HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn but would let the court complete the legal process, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said yesterday.

The court had earlier ordered the release of the impounded Boeing 737 aircraft but only after receiving a €20-million (Bt851 million) bank guarantee.

The government has informed the Crown Prince about developments in the case and has decided to battle it out in court by providing facts and clear evidence on the legal status of the aircraft, Kasit said.

"We are confident that the aircraft belongs to the Crown Prince. He is not involved with this case and the documents are very solid, so there is no need to pay the guarantee of €20 million," Kasit told reporters upon arrival from Germany.

The aircraft was seized at Munich airport on June 12 in a long-running dispute with the receivers of an insolvent German construction firm Walter Bau who say they are owed almost €40 million for investments in the Don Muang Tollway.

But on Wednesday, a court in nearby Landshut said it had received an assurance under oath from the director of Thailand's Department of Civil Aviation that the plane belonged to the prince, not the Thai state, as well as a 2007 registration certificate.

The deputy chief justice of the court, Christoph Fellner, said that as these documents provided only a "presumption of ownership", a bank guarantee had to be deposited, according to AFP.

Air Force Commander-in-Chief Air Chief Marshal Ittiporn Supawong reiterated that the Boeing really belongs to the Crown Prince as the Air Force had given it to him in 2007. The aircraft is no longer on duty with the Air Force. The documents for transfer of ownership have been cleared since then, he said.

The information on a website, which indicates the aircraft still belongs to the Air Force, is not correct and the website is run by a private group, not the Royal Thai Air Force, he said. "So that information cannot be used in the court to prove ownership," he said.

Officials from the Department of Civil Aviation and legal experts could prove the ownership of the aircraft in the German court, Kasit said.

The Office of the Attorney-General would call a meeting today to wrap up the case and prepare solid evidence for the court trial, he said.

The aircraft must remain parked at the Munich Airport until the case ends by the second week of August, Kasit said.