TMCnet News
Thailand: Five Financial Sector Restructuring Authority board members to face charges over handling of post-economic crisis asset sales(Thai Press Reports Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Section: Government and Politics - DSI action relates to time of 1997 crisis, the Bangkok Post reports. The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) in the next two weeks will issue writs for five people suspected of being involved in irregularities related to the sale of financial institutions that collapsed in the financial crisis of 1997. Director-general of prosecutors on bankruptcy Vitch Jirapaet said the five included board members of the Financial Sector Restructuring Authority (FRA) in charge of dealing with 56 financial institutions, as well as staff of private companies. Mr Vitch refused to identify the five people but said all of them faced criminal charges - including embezzlement to avoid paying tax - and could be sued for negligence or malfeasance of duty. If found guilty, they will be liable to prison terms ranging from three months to seven years or fined from 2,000 to 200,000 baht. The state officials being summoned to hear charges were members of the second FRA board, Mr Vitch said. If suspects are indicted, the country would retrieve more than 800 billion baht as the case involved many big companies, both Thai and foreign, he added. The five would be charged in connection with the auction sale to Layman Brother Holdings Inc at 11.52 billion baht of residential projects whose real value was 24.616 billion baht. The company later transferred its rights to Global Thai Property Mutual Fund. This was the only case investigators could conclude after hearing 110 witnesses, including experts and state officials, and studying documents, he said. DSI investigators are still working on four others on which they have received complaints from damaged parties. DSI investigators initially planned to summon the five suspects on November 15 but acting director-general of the DSI Kraisorn Barameeauaychai argued for more evidence to firm up the charges. Members of the first FRA board will now be called in for questioning. The first FRA board, set up by the Chavalit Yongchaiyudh government and which served from Oct 28 to Dec 23, 1997, was chaired by Tawatchai Yongkittikul. The second FRA board, set up by the Chuan Leekpai government and which served from Dec 23, 1997 to Feb 1, 2000, was chaired by Amaret Sila-on. Other board members were Chulasing Wasantasing, Tanya Sirivetin, Chandra Archavanantakul, Kesaree Narongdej and Vicharat Vichitvatakarn. The case is one of five in which damaged parties had submitted complaints, Mr Vitch said. The DSI began investigating irregularities in the sales of assets of 56 financial institutions in February this year after receiving complaints about the behaviour of FRA board members who sold the assets, worth 850 billion baht, for only 190 billion baht. Senior DSI officials alleged that FRA board members had failed to separate good debts from bad debts, damaging the economy and giving foreigners an opportunity to gain inappropriately. Goldman Sachs Asia Finance Company won at auction for 22.45 billion baht assets worth 115,890 million baht that were later transferred to the Bangkok Capital Mutual Fund. The Kiatnakin Company won with a bid of 23.176 billion baht assets worth 64.303 billion baht that were later transferred to the Asia Recovery 1-3 mutual funds. V Conglomerate Company won with a bid of 3.189 billion baht assets worth 12.376 billion baht that were transferred to V-Capital Mutual Fund. Mr Vitch said the investigators found 10 instances of irregularities by the FRA board members in the case involving Layman Brother Holdings and Global Thai Property. These included permission for certain juristic persons linked to the FRA to join the bidding, concealment of information and lack of transparency Copyright 2006 Thai Press Reports |