Details of the Shin Corp sale investigation revealed in The Nation yesterday covered many issues, but also raised another question of whether Surin Upatkoon, a major shareholder of Kularb Kaew Co Ltd, was a nominee, and if so, who did he represent, Democrat Party deputy secretary-general Korn Chatikavanich said.

Korn told reporters yesterday that Surin's role in Kularb Kaew is intriguing.

He said the Bt2.7 billion used to buy the 68 per cent share in Kularb Kaew was wired to Surin from Fairmont Investments Group, which was registered in the British Virgin Islands. Ample Rich Investments and Win Mark, two companies reportedly involved with the Shinawatra family, were also registered there, he noted.

"There is a question of whether the company is involved with the family's sale of its shares [in Shin Corp]. Moreover, Surin's investment came from the company [Fairmont], transferred to him by Greenland Co Ltd, who authorised the money transfer authority to Surin. What is Surin's role in this deal and who is the real owner of the Bt2.7 billion? Is Surin simply a nominee?" he asked.

An observer who has closely followed the Temasek-Shin Corp takeover remarked that if Surin is a nominee, he should not represent Temasek but someone else who wanted to avoid the foreign shareholding problems, which could have disrupted the Temasek-Shin Corp deal.

"Temasek strictly follows good governance practices when it invests in any company in any country. All information is straightforwardly revealed on its website. Having a company in the British Virgin Islands finance a nominee's deal does not fit its profile," she said. "Even Anderton Investments - a shareholder of Aspen Holdings (which directly owns Shin Corp) is registered in Singapore."

She is convinced that Surin is a nominee. "If he truly wanted to invest in Shin Corp, why he didn't finance the investment with his own money, from his own bank account. Who are the ultimate shareholders of Greenland and Fairmont? It couldn't be Surin. If he is the owner of the two companies, it makes no sense why he needs Greenland's permission to wire money from Fairmont to his bank account."

The remarks followed the leak of the Commerce Ministry's Business Development Department's nominee investigation report.

The department found that Surin financed his investment by the money from Fairmont. In the report, Surin received Bt2.72 billion from HSBC Bank. The bank informed the department that it was asked by Surin to transfer the money on March 10 from an account belonging to Fairmont, which has Greenland Co as its authorised manager. Greenland transferred that authority to Surin.

The report also showed the money trail indicated that Temasek could have bankrolled Pong Sarasin and Suphadej Poonpipat's investments in Kularb Kaew. Bank documents showed Temasek's unit Cypress Holdings, transferred money to Kularb Kaew for Pong's investment and it also guaranteed a loan from Siam Commercial Bank to Suphadej.

To Korn, now that the report concludes that Kularb Kaew is Temasek's nominee, it was unnecessary for the Commerce Ministry to appoint a new committee - chaired by deputy permanent secretary Yanyong Phuangrach - to investigate the issue. He lamented that Commerce Minister Somkid Jatusripitak was simply buying time by appointing the committee.

"We're concerned about the ministry's role. Now that the finding shows an illegal transaction, why did the ministry not take any action. Instead, it is buying time. The ministry should follow the legal procedures and should block out political interference. If the Commerce minister does not take action, he could be held negligent and could face legal action," Korn said.

Democrat spokesman Ong-art Klampaiboon said yesterday that Somkid should not distance himself from the issue and he should take full responsibility for it.

"Somkid has urged all to improve good governance. Now, Kularb Kaew is a card to prove Somkid's ethics," he said.

Korn said following the finding, the authorities needed to consider if other companies involved with Shin Corp would be branded foreign companies and if the finding would affect their business operations. Another point of concern is whether the Temasek-Shin Corp takeover should be nullified.

Business Desk

 The Nation