Pojaman's land may be seized

Stolen asset must be returned to its rightful owner, says AEC chief Nam

The controversial land plot on Ratchadapisek bought from the Financial Institutions Develop-ment Fund (FIDF) by Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra, wife of ousted premier Thaksin, could soon be seized, a senior graft buster said yesterday.

"The Pojaman case is like an analogy drawn from a robbery - the stolen asset must be seized and returned to the rightful owner after the thief gets caught," Assets Examination Committee (AEC) chairman Nam Yimyaem said.

Nam yesterday led other AEC members in a meeting with Council for National Security (CNS) chairman General Sonthi Boonyaratglin and senior officials from relevant ministries at the Army headquarters.

At the meeting, AEC members asked the government to issue a Cabinet resolution requiring relevant agencies to cooperate with the AEC, by providing necessary information and filing complaints as the damaged party against corrupt politicians, according to its spokesman Sak Korsaengruang.

The AEC also urged the government to amend the anti-graft law to allow it to investigate corruption cases involving political office holders, even though no complaints were filed.

Nam yesterday said the seizure of Pojaman's plot should happen after the Udom Fuangfung panel completes its hearing for possible indictments against Pojaman.

The hearing is in progress and has reached a stage where Pojaman will have to present her defence within seven days, he said.

The Udom panel would then outline the charges and recommend a trial in the Supreme Court's Criminal Tribunal for Political Office Holders, he said.

The AEC is empowered to impound any ill-gotten assets ahead of the judicial review, he said.

Nam also stated he was confident of securing a conviction because Pojaman and her husband Thaksin had jointly violated the ban against government officials and spouses entering into a state contract.

Yesterday's meeting of the AEC appointed Banjerd Singkaneti, who heads the fact-finding team on the rubber saplings procurement scandal, to chair the eight-member subcommittee to open a hearing on possible indictments, said AEC spokesman Sak.

The panel would also investigate the latest complaint filed yesterday by Veera Somkwamkid, secretary-general of the People's Network against Corruption, who claimed that many of the saplings were planted on land in Buri Ram belonging to a former Cabinet member, according to the spokesman.

Banjerd's fact-finding team has named 50 suspects - including the ousted Cabinet members - for being involved in the rubber saplings procurement scandal.

In regard to the tax audit on the transfer of Shin shares between a paper company, Ample Rich, and Thaksin's two children - Panthongtae and Pinthongta - the AEC was trying to verify whether the transaction took place in Thailand or abroad, a source said.

If the transaction happened under the Thai jurisdiction, then it would incur tax liabilities.

In their respective statements, Panthongtae and Pinthongta both said their mother's private secretary Kanchanapa Honghern arranged the deal on their behalf via a bank branch in Switzerland, the source said.

The AEC has summoned additional documents from Kanchanapa to check the statements of the two, according to the source.

The Nation

The Supreme Court ruled today two years state vacation for Thaksin, his wife got away innocent. The request to seize the land was turned down by the court.