Companies and individuals benefiting from concession amendments during ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's administration may have to pay Bt134 billion in compensation, the Finance Ministry estimates.
The amount was calculated by the State Enterprise Policy Office (Sepo) following the Supreme Court's February 26 ruling that Thaksin had illegally amended the concessions and laws to benefit state concessionaires and certain individuals.
A ministry source said the amount included 7.5percent interest per annum starting from the day the damage was committed until the end of this month.
Sepo estimates the conversion of concession fees to excise tax cost the government Bt57 billion, or Bt75.7 billion including interest.
The damage was from four concessionaires: Advanced Info Service (AIS), Bt32 billion, or Bt42.4 billion with interest; Total Access Communication, Bt16.8 billion, or Bt22 billion with interest; True Move Bt6.6 billion, or Bt8.77 billion with interest; and Digital Phone, Bt2.4 billion, or Bt3.2 billion with interest.
Amendment of AIS's concession to lower prepaidrevenue sharing resulted in damage of Bt14.2 billion, or Bt19.3 billion including interest.
Amendment of concessions for roaming purposes that benefited AIS and parent Shin Corp caused damage of Bt6.9 billion, or Bt8 billion with interest.
The ExportImport Bank of Thailand's Bt4billion loan to Burma cost the government Bt354 million, or Bt400 million with interest.
Last, amendment of the concessions of Thaicom - which was called Shin Satellite at the time - cost the government Bt20 billion in lost revenue, or Bt31 billion with interest.
The source said Finance Minister Korn Chatikavanij had been informed of the estimates, which would be forwarded to the Office of the AttorneyGeneral for further legal proceedings against the concessionaires, individuals and negligent state officials.
"All of the information will be submitted to the state prosecutors. The lawsuits will be directed to the concessionaires, not their shareholders. The companies are still benefiting from the amendments," he said.
Meanwhile, state agencies that awarded the concessions, such as TOT, must take action to prevent further damage, the source said. Otherwise, more damage will occur, giving rise to even more lawsuits later on.
"State agencies required to act in accordance with the court's ruling must stop causing damage as soon as possible, because the concessions that benefit private companies are continuing. The summary of damages as of this coming March 31 indicates how much the government has already lost for now; if the concessions continue, the damages will only keep adding up," said the source.
The source insisted state officials were careful to base the figures on actual damage costs, because if the estimates were below the actual cost, they could be deemed negligent.
