The Crime Suppression Division is preparing to detain fugitive "financial wizard" Rakesh Saxena if Canadian authorities extradite him to Thailand this week.
Rakesh is fighting against an order issued by Canada's justice minister to send him back to Thailand to face embezzlement charges. The Canadian Supreme Court will rule on his appeal today.
The 52yearold Indianborn finan¬cier, formerly an adviser to president of the nowdefunct Bangkok Bank of Commerce, was charged in 1996 with colluding with other bank executives to embezzle nearly Bt3 billion. The case's statute of limitation ends next July.
Saxena has been fighting against extradition ever since he was arrested in July 1996 in Canada at the request of the Thai police. The bank's collapse is believed to have partially contributed to the 1997 financial crisis.
A police source said Saxena should arrive in Thailand tomorrow night and that the CSD had a room ready for him at its detention centre.
The fugitive would be held in a room closest to the desk of the officer on duty for easy surveillance, the source added.
Meanwhile, Seksan Bangsombun, the chief public prosecutor for economic and naturalresource cases, said prosecutors in his division were gathering evidence for Saxena's case. He expects all the documents to be ready this week so they could file lawsuits as soon as he arrives back in Thailand.
Sirisak Tiyaphan, the chief prosecutor for foreign affairs, is now in Canada waiting to hear the verdict by that country's Supreme Court and will accompany the fugitive back to Thailand if the extradition order is approved.