'KTB loan paid to Panthongtae's firm'
Deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, his wife and his son face possible prosecution for allegedly ordering Krung Thai Bank to extend a Bt9.9-billion loan to the Krisada Mahanakorn Plc group with highly inflated collateral security, a source said yesterday.
The Assets Examination Committee yesterday agreed to a suggestion by its subcommittee probing the loan scandal to incriminate seven politicians, eight Krung Thai Bank officials, four executives and five companies and their management for alleged involvement in the loan scandal, AEC spokesman Sak Korsaengruang said. Sak said damages caused by extending the KTB loan to the Krisada Mahanakorn group was estimated at Bt4.5 billion. A Krung Thai Bank witness has testified to the subcommittee, incriminating Thaksin, his wife Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra and their son Panthongtae Shinawatra for ordering the bank to approve the loan. Others allegedly involved include Manop Divari, father of Sita Divari, former Thai Rak Thai Party spokesman, and the mother of Kanchana Honghern, Pojaman's personal secretary. The panel found that the loan extended to the group was paid to Panthongtae and Manop, executives of How Come Entertainment, run by Panthongtae. The AEC yesterday also agreed to appoint a subcommittee to probe 32 former Cabinet members in the Thaksin government for issuing resolutions in regard to the two- and three-digit lottery scheme. There were grounds to believe they broke the law. The AEC estimated that the lottery scheme caused the state to lose Bt21 billion in revenue, and the Office of the Government Lottery incurred Bt16 billion in losses.
Budsarakham Sinlapalavan The Nation
|
