Criminal Wanted: Thaksin and Pojamarn

UK cancels visas of Thaksin, wife

2008-11-08T08:36:00.000-08:00

By The Nation
Published on November 8, 2008

The British Embassy has revoked entry visas of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Pojaman.

The cancellation, which was decided while the couple were outside England, has been notified to airlines yesterday.

The decision was made by the United Kingdom Border Agency, and the notification email was signed by Bangkok-based Immigration Liaison Manager Andy Gray.

The email read:

"Dear All,

The United Kingdom Border Agency has revoked the UK visas held by the following Thai nations:

Thaksin Shinawatra. Thai Passport Number D215863

Potjaman Shinawatra. Thai Passport Number D206635

The UK visas contained in the passports of the individuals listed above are no longer valid for travel.

Airlines are advised not to carry these passengers to the UK"

*** end *****

The embassy would not comment on the report. Contacted embassy officials said they "cannot comment on policy matters."

It was a big political blow for Thaksin, who was believed to be on his way from China to the Philippines yesterday. It was understood that the cancellation had to do with the recent court rulings that found Pojaman guilty of tax evasion and Thaksin guilty of breaking the conflict of interest law in the Ratchadapisek land purchase scandal.

Their children's British visas are still valid.

A senior People Power Party politician who has been in China this week answered The Nation's phone contact but replied to the inquiry about Thaksin's visa situation with only "I don't know. I don't know."

Thaksin has always described England as a "democratically mature" country as compared to Thailand. But he always denied having applied for asylum although he said England would be the country where he wanted to live in exile.

Last Saturday, in a controversial long-distance phone-in from Hong Kong, Thaksin accused his political opponents of breaking his family apart. In the same address, he also begged for royal pardon or a popular show of force to bring him back to Thailand.

"Nobody can bring me back to Thailand, except royal kindness of HM the King or the power of the people," Thaksin said. He also claimed that many countries have offered him "honorary citizenship", "which made me a bit sad because I could do many things for anybody else in the world, but nothing now for my country."

The statement triggered a major controversy in Thailand, with Thaksin being accused of trying to drag HM the King into politics. The UK visa move, however, gave Thaksin's statement a whole new perspective, making him sound more like someone desperate to find refuge rather than trying to provoke a political reaction.

It is not immediately known, however, whether Thaksin was aware of the impending visa cancellation before he left England the last time.

A source familiar with the UK legal and diplomatic thinking said the cancellation could have been based on "the different statuses" of Thaksin between the time he was issued the visa and now.

The Supreme Court only found Thaksin guilty in the Ratchadapisek land case late last month, weeks after he fled Thailand during the Beijing Olympics. He fled with his wife, who only days earlier had been found guilty of tax evasion.

England has been under the world community's watchful eyes when Thaksin is concerned. Diplomatic observers have said a decision whether or not to give Thaksin asylum would generate strong ramifications on England's relations with Thailand, as well as London's reputations when democracy, foreign relations and legal principles are concerned.

Thai ex-PM guilty of corruption

2008-10-21T07:20:00.000-07:00

Thaksin Shinawatra has been living in the UK

Thailand's fugitive ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra has been found guilty of corruption and sentenced to two years in prison by the Thai Supreme Court.

In a landmark ruling, he was found to have violated conflict of interest rules in helping his wife buy land from a state agency at a knock-down price.

The couple fled to the UK in August, saying they would not get a fair trial.

The decision comes amid growing tension between the former leader's supporters and his opponents.

The ruling is the first in a string of stalled and slow-moving cases against Thaksin, former owner and now honorary chairman of Manchester City Football Club, launched in the wake of the 2006 military coup.

The coup leaders claimed there had been massive corruption and abuse of power under Thaksin's rule, and set up a special unit to investigate the business dealings of the former leader and his close associates.

His wife, Pojaman, was convicted of tax evasion in July and sentenced to three years in jail but was acquitted by the Supreme Court in the current case.

Political tensions

The nine-member court ruled by five to four that Thaksin had violated the constitution in involving himself in the land deal.

"Thaksin had violated the article of the constitution on conflict of interest, as he was then prime minister and head of government who was supposed to work for the benefit of the public," one judge said as he read the verdict.

CASES AGAINST THAKSIN FAMILY

Case one: Corruption charges related to purchase of state land by his wife. Who: Thaksin and his wife. Status: Thaksin guilty, wife acquitted

Case two: Abuse of power linked to government lottery scheme.Who: Thaksin and several former Cabinet ministers. Status: Case accepted by Supreme Court

Case three: Abuse of power related to state loan to Burma alleged to have benefited family business. Who: Thaksin. Status: Case accepted by Supreme Court

Case four: Concealing assets.Who: Thaksin, wife and two others. Status: Awaiting court decision on proceeding to trial

Case five: Tax evasion. Who: Members of Thaksin's family.Status: Pojaman Shinawatra and her brother jailed for three years, her secretary for two years

Several other claims also lodged

The case stems from Pojaman's purchase in an auction of about 13 acres (five hectares) of prime land in central Bangkok in 2003 for 772 million baht ($22.4m).

The land was bought from the Financial Institutions Development Fund (FIDF), a government agency that had been set up to bail-out debt-ridden banks.

The FIDF had taken ownership of the land in 1995 to cover the losses of the collapsed Erawan Trust.

Prime ministers and their spouses are barred from doing business with government agencies.

Thaksin, who was prime minister from 2001-2006, said the charges were politically motivated and that he had expected the Supreme Court to sentence him, Reuters news agency reported. He told Reuters he was not seeking asylum in the UK.

The chief prosecutor in the case said he wanted Britain to "quickly extradite" Thaksin.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7681416.stm

Ousted Thai PM Thaksin guilty of corruption

2008-10-21T07:17:00.000-07:00

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- A Thai court has found deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra guilty of corruption, and sentenced him in absentia to two years imprisonment.

Thaksin Shinawatra lives in self-imposed exile in London.

The case stemmed from a Bangkok land deal while Thaksin was in office. He was convicted of violating a law that bans ministers or their wives from conducting business with government agencies.

Thaksin, who now lives in the United Kingdom, is unlikely to serve any jail time. He fled from Thailand in August just as he was to appear in court.

In the land deal, Thaksin's wife, Pojama, is accused of using her husband's political influence to buy undeveloped land from a government agency for about a third of its estimated value.

The case is one of several corruption cases against Thaksin and his family that are winding their way through the legal system.

The billionaire is accused of abusing the country's system of checks and balances and bending government policy to benefit his family's business.

Thaksin has consistently denied that he or his family was involved in any wrongdoing.

Don't Miss

In August, Thaksin and his wife skipped a court appearance and fled to the United Kingdom rather than testify in the real-estate case. He said he did so because he did not think he would get a fair trial in Thailand.

Thaksin, a telecommunications tycoon, once owned the English Premier League Manchester City Football Club but sold his stake this year.

His party won two landslide victories before he was deposed in a bloodless military coup in September 2006 after massive anti-government street protests.

He returned to Thailand after his allies in the People Power Party won nearly half the seats in the lower house in December's parliamentary elections and formed the ruling coalition.

In recent weeks, the country has seen daily demonstrations from anti-government protesters who want PPP leaders purged from the Cabinet. They have laid siege to the Government House -- the seat of the Thai government -- since August 26.

The protesters -- led by the People's Alliance for Democracy -- contend that the PPP is trying to amend the constitution so Thaksin does not have to face charges.

In September, Thailand's Constitutional Court stripped then-Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej of his position, ruling that he had violated the constitution by appearing as a paid guest on a television cooking show.

The PPP responded by picking Thaksin's brother-in-law as Samak's replacement -- further inflaming the protesters.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/10/21/thailand.thaksin/index.html

Time Is Ticking For Thaksin

2008-08-29T06:23:00.000-07:00

LONDON -Tuesday's violent anti-government protests in Bangkok may be putting some long-distance pressure on Thailand's former prime minister, the telecommunications tycoon Thaksin Shinawatra, as he weighs his options far away from home in London.

Although it was unclear on Tuesday whether Shinawatra had taken any steps to obtain political asylum in Great Britain, after fleeing corruption charges in Thailand earlier this month with his wife, it is clear that the former leader's critics are getting intensely agitated by the perceived lack of urgency in hauling him back before the Thai courts.

Thousands of Thais took to the streets on Tuesday, storming the current government's compound and seizing a state television station. Reportedly brandishing pistols, knives and golf clubs, these rioters were tied to the pro-royalist and pro-military group known as the People's Alliance for Democracy--the very same group that organized a protest outside the British Embassy in Bangkok last week, demanding Shinawatra's extradition.

Although Shinawatra may very well try to claim that these riots demonstrate a credible threat to his life, enough to boost his chances of getting asylum at least, it is unlikely that this will be enough to avoid the pressure of lengthy extradition proceedings.

"When you are extradited, you aren't just thrown onto the streets in Thailand at the hands of the mob," said Colin Passmore, senior litigation partner at law firm Simmons & Simmons. "You are put in control of the judicial authorities. The real issue would be whether he gets a fair trial."

If Shinawatra is to be believed, a fair trial in Thailand is out of the question--he said as much when he fled the country, adding that he also feared for his family's safety. But this will not stop the Thai government from building a case to extradite Shinawatra if it so chooses, and protesters could pile the pressure on until then.

A spokesperson for the British interior ministry refused to confirm whether an extradition application had been filed or whether Shinawatra had applied for political asylum. A spokesman for Manchester City soccer team, which Shinawatra owns, said the Thai billionaire was still going through his available options with his lawyers.

On Monday, Thai prosecutors ordered the seizure of $2.2 billion in cash and assets from Shinawatra, in a bid to back up allegations of corruption and wrongdoing during the former leader's five-year premiership.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/markets/2008/08/26/thaksin-shinawatra-thailand-markets-face-cx_ll_0826autofacescan01.html

Thai Prosecutors Charge Thaksin, May Seize $2 Billion

2008-08-29T06:22:00.000-07:00

By Daniel Ten Kate and Rattaphol Onsanit

Aug. 25 (Bloomberg) -- Thai prosecutors charged former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra with abusing his power, seeking to confiscate $2.2 billion of assets that were frozen after a 2006 coup.

``The court should seize Thaksin's assets as he earned unusual wealth from a conflict of interest,'' Sakesun Bangsomboon, director-general of the Department of Special Litigation, said today. The attorney general's office used a truck to transfer 240,000 pages of legal documents to the court.

The charges add to three cases already accepted by the Supreme Court in Bangkok against Thaksin, who fled into exile earlier this month claiming the judiciary is corrupt. Thai officials have said they may revoke the billionaire's passport and seek his extradition from England, where he owns Manchester City football club.

Before entering politics, Thaksin, 59, won one of two mobile-phone concessions, and was awarded an exclusive satellite franchise. In 1994, when he was appointed foreign minister in a coalition government, Thaksin and his wife disclosed assets worth $2.4 billion. He formed his own party in 1998 and became prime minister in 2001.

``There is no justifiable reason to claim that he and his family are unusually wealthy,'' Pongthep Thepkanjana, a spokesman for Thaksin, said by phone today. ``These are all assets he had before he became prime minister.''

Shin Corp. Sale

In June 2007, an army-appointed investigative body froze most of the proceeds from his family's sale of its stake in telecommunications firm Shin Corp. to Singapore's state-run Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd. for 73 billion baht ($2.1 billion).

During Thaksin's tenure as prime minister between February 2001 and September 2006, Shin Corp. shares rose 48 percent to 31 baht. Thailand's benchmark SET Index more than doubled to 703 points during that time. Thaksin's family sold its stake in Shin on Jan. 23, 2006.

Shin controls Advanced Info Service Pcl, the country's biggest mobile phone company. Its shares doubled to 93 baht while Thaksin was prime minister, in line with the benchmark index. During the same period, Total Access Communication Pcl, Thailand's second-largest mobile phone company and listed on the Singapore Exchange, increased 27 percent.

Since the coup that deposed Thaksin, Shin shares declined 23 percent to 24 baht, and Advanced Info shares dropped 5 percent to 88 baht. Total Access shares increased 44 percent to $1.24 in that time, while the SET Index fell 3.5 percent.

Thaksin's Wife Sentenced

Thaksin's wife, Pojamarn Shinawatra, was sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion last month, the first conviction against a member of his family. Eleven days later the couple claimed the cases against them were politically motivated and fled into exile, prompting the Supreme Court to issue arrest warrants.

Thaksin currently faces three separate trials, with prosecutors accusing him of abusing his power to help his wife buy a large land plot in Bangkok, authorizing a loan to Myanmar that allegedly benefited his family's former company and allowing his government to approve a state lottery in 2003.

The Supreme Court plans to rule on the land case on Sept. 17, the first decision dealing directly with Thaksin in any of the pending litigation.

Source: Thai Prosecutors Charge Thaksin, May Seize $2 Billion (Update1)

Little sympathy in London town

2008-08-23T23:37:00.001-07:00

A random survey of Thais in the UK conducted by PATCHARIN WONGSATIEN failed to turn up much support for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's plea for political asylum.

Nike, president of the Thai Festival Organisation:

'I quite understand why they did it. If you're in that position, being used to power and having all the money in the world, would you care to spend time in prison? I don't think so.

"I think they are good people, but they were unfortunate to have had bad advice. I mean, when they went back to Thailand from exile last time, they should have kept a low profile in politics. Personally I think they should stand trial in the Thai courts, but they decided that they had to flee because they could not get a guarantee or assurance that the court would grant them bail. Otherwise, I don't think they would have left and made themselves fugitives in another country.

"From my point of view, the possible outcome facing the family if they were to fight all the charges in the Thai courts is dim. Evidence against them is very strong.

Personally, I don't think it was right that they violated the bail conditions, but for them it's the right move. They have witnessed their lawyers being sent to jail, and also the three-year prison sentence for Khunying Potjaman was enough to convince the family that perhaps it was time to go."

Kampol Nirawan, former political activist during October 14, 1973

student uprising:

'I believe Thaksin's self-imposed exile has put him at a disadvantage. Firstly, he would in effect strip himself of a chance to fight in court because the trial will go ahead in absentia. Secondly, his assets in Thailand will be seized and he also risks having his assets here restrained by a court order since Thai and British police have reciprocal agreement to co-operate in a criminal offence."

Siriruk, a city worker:

'I don't think Thaksin and his wife should have been allowed to leave the country in the first place to go to China, especially when Khunying Potjaman was in effect a convicted prisoner and their court cases were still pending. Personally I think Mr Thaksin, as former leader of the country, showed no respect for the Thai constitution.

"It's utter nonsense what he claimed - that he would not get a fair trial in the Thai justice system and there was not any hard evidence against him and his family. Seeking political asylum here is an easy escape. But I do hope that the English courts would see through him and refuse his application, because he is not facing a death sentence at home nor is his life in danger. The family is very lucky because they are so rich, they can afford to do anything. But they should not be above the law. What I believe is that what goes around comes around. Perhaps they cannot buy their way out of what has come around this time."

Parn, a city worker:

'In my opinion, I don't think his claim that he could not trust the Thai justice system is justifiable. It's more of a case of political miscalculation. After all, his wife has been through the trial in Thailand and has received a jail sentence. I think Thaksin could see that he would face the same fate. That was why they decided to flee.

"As for whether or not he would seek political asylum here, I think at the end of the day he will get away with everything. Look at Rakesh Saksena (fugitive Thai bank adviser), for example. He was never brought back to face trial in Thailand. Having said that, I don't really think Thaksin will apply for asylum here."

Malisa Butterworth, a businesswoman:

'It would be ridiculous if Thaksin and his wife are allowed to claim political asylum here. The 1951 United Nations refugee convention states clearly that the claimant must have a well-founded fear of persecution because of his/her race, belief, political opinion or belong to a particular social group. The question for Thaksin and his wife is: do they fit into any of these categories?

"He (Thaksin) argued that he chose the UK because democracy means more here. But people can see it that the court proceedings in Thailand are carried out under the strict rules of constitution. However, I wouldn't be surprised if he and his wife are allowed to live here. After all, many former world leaders who abused their own people and violated human rights in their countries, like Augusto Pinochet (late dictator of Chile), were welcomed to the UK. Still, I believe its not a bad thing that he left Thailand. At least it helps reduce political temperature and conflicts there."

Supa Korprakong, Home Office employee:

'I don't think Thaksin should be granted political asylum here. It's obvious that he and his wife are trying to run away from the punishment they deserve. If they don't believe in the Thai justice system, why did they go back last time? They did because they thought their friends in the government could help them. Now they know their friends could not help, so they left to spare themselves a jail sentence. It's simple. There is nothing to do with the fairness of our judicial system.

"I feel sorry for Thailand and poor people. The family is so rich but they never want to give anything back to society. When Thaksin was in power, his policy was always for short-term gain. They should look up to Bill Gates. He is rich but he is willing to do something good for others in the world. Unlike Thaksin, whose only interest is to grab as much as he can and who thinks about nothing else except creating his image. He is getting what he deserves."

Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/240808_Perspective/24Aug2008_pers13.php

Thai court to rule on land case against Thaksin couple next month

2008-08-22T05:28:00.000-07:00

BANGKOK, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's Supreme Court Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions will hand down on Sept.17 a final verdict on a land purchase scandal against ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Pojaman, now fugitives in Britain, after concluding the hearings on Friday.

Ex-prime minister Thaksin, who was ousted in a bloodless coup on Sept. 19, 2006, and his wife jumped bail and flew to Britain from Beijing after attending the Aug. 8 opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

They did not return to Thailand to appear at a court hearing on Aug. 11, and the court later on the day issued arrest warrants for them.

Thaksin was charged with abuse of power by helping his wife purchase a plot of land in downtown Bangkok at a lower-than-market price of 772 million baht (26 million U.S. dollars) in a government auction in 2003, when he was still in office.

After toppled in the 2006 coup, Thaksin, his family and close aides were brought to face various accusations and charges of corruption and abuse of power. Pojaman was convicted on July 31 on a separate case of tax evasion and released on bail.

Both Thaksin and his wife have denied any wrongdoing in the land deal.

The Supreme Court said it has asked the Attorney General as the plaintiff and the two defendants to attend or submit written documents to the Court within Sept. 10 for the case closure, and the final verdict will be handed down on Sept. 17, according to the Thai News Agency.

After fleeing to Britain, Thaksin issued a statement saying he and his family faced "injustice" under the politically-interfered judicial system in the country. He has also said he would not return to defend himself in court, but he wanted his lawyers to continue carrying out their duties.

Source: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-08/22/content_9618273.htm

Manchester City's Thaksin Shinawatra faces extradition calls from Thai protestors

2008-08-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

Turmoil continues to surround Manchester City owner Thasin Shinawatra after thousands of protestors gathered outside the British Embassy in Bangkok demanding the extradition of the former Thai prime minister.

By Telegraph staff and agencies
Last Updated: 4:30PM BST 19 Aug 2008

Anger: Protesters called for Thaksin to face jail Photo: AP

About 7,000 protesters from the anti-Thaksin People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) movement rallied peacefully in the Thai capital, carrying posters and shouting "Thaksin go to jail".

Thaksin has been issued with an arrest warrant after he failed to appear in front of a Thai court over corruption allegations. The situation has overshadowed City's start to the Premier League season, with reports claiming Thaksin has been forced to borrow money from former chairman John Wardle in order to pay wages and other outgoings.

Around £800 million of Thaksin's assets have been frozen by Thai authorities. And until those funds are released, Thaksin's plans to transform City into one of Europe's leading clubs will remain on hold.

In a letter to Ambassador Quinton Mark Quayle, the PAD called on the Home Office to turn down any request for asylum from Thaksin. Thailand has not yet requested the extradition of Thaksin, who still carries a Thai diplomatic passport. He has so far not been granted asylum or special treatment in the UK.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: "It is our long-standing policy to neither confirm nor deny whether an extradition request has been received for a particular individual.

"Every case is considered on its merits, in line with our international commitments and the terms of UK extradition legislation."

The protesters were led by Sondhi Limthongkul, a key figure in the PAD which orchestrated mass street protests leading to Thaksin's ousting from office in the bloodless coup. Last week, Thailand's Supreme Court ruled that a corruption trial against Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman, could proceed even though the couple fled the country.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/mancity/2585557/Manchester-Citys-Thaksin-Shinawatra-faces-extradition-calls-from-Thai-protestors---Football.html

Anti-Thaksin protesters march on British embassy in Bangkok

2008-08-18T23:26:00.001-07:00

BANGKOK (AFP) — Thousands of protesters clad in bright yellow marched through central Bangkok to the British embassy on Tuesday to demand the extradition of ousted Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

Chanting "Return Thaksin home" and waving banners reading "Most wanted criminals: Thaksin and (his wife) Pojaman", the noisy crowd blocked traffic in one of the capital's main shopping districts.

"We are coming here to submit a letter to the British government asking them to return Thaksin to receive justice in Thailand," Chamlong Srimuang, one of the protest leaders, told the crowd.

A representative of British ambassador Quinton Quayle received the letter from protest leaders, who have demanded a response within seven days.

Bangkok police special branch said that up to 7,000 protesters flooded the streets, while bystanders estimated the crowd to be at least 3,000-strong.

The protesters from the so-called People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) wore yellow T-shirts and headscarfs -- a show of allegiance to the king -- and carried signs in English and Thai.

"Thaksin is not a political refugee but a criminal evading an arrest warrant," one banner hoisted above the crowd read.

Thaksin and Pojaman skipped a required court appearance in a corruption case last Monday and instead fled to England, with Thaksin saying he believed political interference in Thailand would rob him of a fair trial on graft charges.

A warrant has been issued for his arrest, and the Thai attorney general's office has begun considering a possible bid to extradite Thaksin from Britain, where he owns the Premier League football club Manchester City.

Thaksin was overthrown in a coup in September 2006 and returned to Thailand in February this year after 18 months of self-imposed exile in England, vowing to fight the corruption charges.

But instead the cases mounted, and on July 31 his wife was convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to three years in jail.

The PAD has been holding street protests since May demanding the resignation of premier Samak Sundaravej, who was elected in December last year. They accuse Samak of being a puppet of his old ally Thaksin.

Source: http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iXiC1ReNCMDh-y8zZJdChK7AuPeQ

PAD demands UK not to grant aslym to Thaksin

2008-08-18T22:31:00.000-07:00

UK warned in letter if Thaksin's asylum request is met, more non-democratic figures in Thailand will follow suit. (Read full letter inside)

Thousands of of protesters led by People Alliance for Democracy marched to the UK Embassy on Wireless Road in Bangkok on Tuesday morning to demand the country not to grant political asylum to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra.

The protesters arrived at the embassy at about 10.30am. Police had to seal off roads in the area, including Wireless and Ploenchit roads.

PAD's leaders; Chamlong Srimuang, Sondhi Limthongkul and Somsak Kosaisuk, submitted a petition to the embassy's representative at about 11.10 am.

The protesters called on the British government not to grant a political asylum to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The petition said Thaksin's request for political asylum in Britain must be turned down.

"If Thaksin is not brought back to face the charges against him in Thai courts, it will further contribute to the political and democratic deadlock and undermine the capacity to transform the public realm," said the letter.

The UK was warned that if Thaksin's request is met, it will set terrible precedence for other rich, powerful, and non-democratic figures in Thailand as well as elsewhere to follow suit.

PAD's letter to the United Kingdom

His Excellency

Mr. Quinton Mark Quayle

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland to Thailand

Your Excellency,

With reference to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife, Khun Ying Pojaman Shinawatra, having jumped bail and fleeing to London last weekend and the subsequent arrest warrants issued by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders for the above-mentioned fugitives, the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) wishes to draw the British Government's attention to the following points:

1) On 14 August 2008, during a session in the House of Representatives, Mr. Tej Bunnag, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, was asked about the impact of Former Prime Minister Thaksin's statement on the image of Thailand's judiciary system. In response, Minister Tej read to the House an official statement by the Kingdom's Foreign Affairs Ministry on Thailand's judicial system saying that "the Thai judicial system's internal, meticulous, and democratic selection process for judges has garnered widespread acceptance and respect from Thai society for its professionalism, high ethical standards, and independence from outside interference. For these reasons, the Thai public has always had strong faith in the integrity and impartiality of the Thai judiciary and knows that it can be counted upon".

(Details of the Foreign Minister's answers are contained in the Press Release of the Department of Information of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs attached herewith.)

2) The original meaning of "democracy" is not merely majority rule but the capacity to do things, especially the capacity to pursue change in the public realm. Through popular, legal, and sovereign measures Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was recently brought on trial.

Thaksin was charged with abusing his power as prime minister by securing insider deals on real-estate purchases for family members. This is the first time in Thai political history that a former prime minister was brought on trial.

No doubt, as part of the governed, we see it as a positive sign, especially in terms of the rule of law and the transformation of the public sphere based on accountability and equality.

It shows that crimes are of great consequences regardless of the perpetrator's identity.

Used to living in a world of fixed heirarchies and gross inequalities, Thaksin fled the indictment to London and is planning to seek asylum in Britain.

Thaksin's request for political asylum in Britain must be turned down. If Thaksin is not brought back to face the charges against him in Thai courts, it will further contribute to the political and democratic deadlock and undermine the capacity to transform the public realm.

If Thaksin's request is met, it will set terrible precedence for other rich, powerful, and non-democratic figures in Thailand as well as elsewhere to follow suit.

3) Given the long and amicable relations between the monarchies as well as the peoples of the two states and taking into consideration the importance of the rule of law and democratization in Thailand, the sensible step to take is to deny political asylum to the fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra, a move that would send the correct democratic message to Thailand and the rest of the world.

People's Alliance for Democracy

Source: http://nationmultimedia.com/2008/08/19/politics/politics_30080927.php

Letters from PAD to U.K. Ambassador to Thailand

2008-08-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

August 19th , 2008

His Excellency
Mr. Quinton Mark Quayle
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland to Thailand

Your Excellency,

With reference to former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife, Khun Ying Pojaman Shinawatra, having jumped bail and fleeing to London last weekend and the subsequent arrest warrants issued by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders for the above-mentioned fugitives, the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) wishes to draw the British Government’s attention to the following points:

1) On 14 August 2008, during a session in the House of Representatives, Mr. Tej Bunnag, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, was asked about the impact of Former Prime Minister Thaksin’s statement on the image of Thailand’s judiciary system. In response, Minister Tej read to the House an official statement by the Kingdom’s Foreign Affairs Ministry on Thailand's judicial system saying that

“the Thai judicial system's internal, meticulous, and democratic selection process for judges has garnered widespread acceptance and respect from Thai society for its professionalism, high ethical standards, and independence from outside interference. For these reasons, the Thai public has always had strong faith in the integrity and impartiality of the Thai judiciary and knows that it can be counted upon”.

(Details of the Foreign Minister's answers are contained in the Press Release of the Department of Information of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs attached herewith.)

2) The original meaning of “democracy” is not merely majority rule but the capacity to do things, especially the capacity to pursue change in the public realm. Through popular, legal, and sovereign measures Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was recently brought on trial.

Thaksin was charged with abusing his power as prime minister by securing insider deals on real-estate purchases for family members. This is the first time in Thai political history that a former prime minister was brought on trial.

No doubt, as part of the governed, we see it as a positive sign, especially in terms of the rule of law and the transformation of the public sphere based on accountability and equality.

It shows that crimes are of great consequences regardless of the perpetrator's identity.

Used to living in a world of fixed heirarchies and gross inequalities, Thaksin fled the indictment to London and is planning to seek asylum in Britain.

Thaksin's request for political asylum in Britain must be turned down. If Thaksin is not brought back to face the charges against him in Thai courts, it will further contribute to the political and democratic deadlock and undermine the capacity to transform the public realm.

If Thaksin's request is met, it will set terrible precedence for other rich, powerful, and non-democratic figures in Thailand as well as elsewhere to follow suit.

3) Given the long and amicable relations between the monarchies as well as the peoples of the two states and taking into consideration the importance of the rule of law and democratization in Thailand, the sensible step to take is to deny political asylum to the fugitive Thaksin Shinawatra, a move that would send the correct democratic message to Thailand and the rest of the world.

People's Alliance for Democracy

PAD to rally outside British embassy

2008-08-17T22:24:00.000-07:00

Inner city motorists face traffic chaos tomorrow when the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) plans to march to the British embassy.

The protesters will demand the British government reject any application for asylum by fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

The rally will start in front of the CentralWorld shopping centre in Pathumwan and the protesters will march to the embassy on the corner of Withayu and Ploenchit roads.

Police deputy spokesman Pol Maj-Gen Surapol Thuanthong said yesterday about 450 police would patrol the rally.

He suggested motorists avoid the vicinity in the morning as the demonstration will disrupt traffic.

PAD co-leader Sondhi Limthongkul said Mr Thaksin should not be treated as an asylum seeker, but a fugitive fleeing the country ahead of criminal trials. The accusations against him were true, he insisted.

Mr Thaksin did not return after attending the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing on Aug 10, as he had promised the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions. Arrest warrants were then issued for Mr Thaksin and his wife Khunying Potjaman.

The two jumped bail in the Ratchadaphisek land trial, in which the former prime minister is accused of abusing his authority by facilitating his wife's purchase of 33 rai of land in Ratchadaphisek from the Bank of Thailand's Financial Institutions Development Fund five years ago.

Khunying Potjaman was found guilty of tax evasion on July 31 in another case by the Criminal Court, who sentenced her to three years in jail.

Mr Thaksin claimed his decision to flee to London from Thailand was due to concern that he would not receive fair trials due to interference in the Thai judicial system.

The PAD has urged the Office of the Attorney-General and the Foreign Ministry to take serious steps in seeking Mr Thaksin's return.

Mr Sondhi has demanded that the Foreign Ministry terminate both of Mr Thaksin's passports.

No move to cancel his diplomat passport has been made so far.

The government, however, cannot terminate the regular passport.

Tomorrow's planned PAD march has upset the People Power party (PPP).

PPP spokesman Kudep Saikrajang urged the anti-government group to respect the rights of Mr Thaksin and blamed Mr Sondhi for discrediting the former prime minister by posting copies of the arrest warrants against the couple on the internet.

Mr Kudep also criticised the national police office for posting copies of the arrest warrants against Mr Thaksin and Khunying Potjaman at police stations nationwide.

He said he wondered what motivated the police action against the former government leader.

Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/180808_News/18Aug2008_news10.php

Shinawatra Did It His Way And Failed

2008-08-17T22:22:00.000-07:00

As Manchester City threaten to descend into civil war, Goal.com's Will Wood takes a closer look at the City of Manchester club. Will Thaksin Shinawatra stay at the club, or will Mark Hughes be left to pick up the pieces of a flirtation with the big time?

Little over twelve months ago, former Thailand Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra, completed the purchase of one of England’s so-called ‘sleeping giants’; a club steeped in history, but one that found itself aspiring to sit side-by-side with Tottenham Hotspur and Everton rather than Manchester United and Chelsea. That said, he was controversial, at least for a while. “Billionaire,” people then said, and with one word the allegations of human rights infringements seemed to evaporate quicker than an football agent’s payment.

Chequebook Out

“Champions League”, Shinawatra himself said, and so the turnstiles at the City of Manchester stadium began to turn. In came former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, greeted by the same fans that surely vilified him as the national side’s boss, but who believed that even the cumbersome Swede could find success with the masses of spending money on offer at Eastlands. Then entered the likes of Martin Petrov, Valeri Bojinov and Elano, most of whom were hardly the household names that billionaires in football are expected to buy, but many of which came with sufficient price-tags on their head to suggest they were far better options than the likes of Danny Mills and Paul Dickov.

Three straight wins in the Premier League, including the 1-0 defeat of arch-rivals Manchester United, saw a mass-eruption of belief that the blue half of Manchester could enjoy the kind of successes usually reserved for the boys from Salford. Shinawatra spoke of his desire to win the league and the Champions League within five years, Elano was starring as his value rose to £20 million – his decline over the proceeding months a symbol of the club's own demise, but that's yet to come – and Eriksson had been embraced to greater lengths than at any point in his England career.

Delicate

And yet it was all so delicate. As the cracks began to appear, and City secured just three league wins in January, February and March, Shinawatra refrained from unifying himself with his manager. Instead, he weakened the foundations of an already teetering campaign, refusing to clarify Eriksson’s position and instead citing the end of the season as the time for reflection. In other words, unless Eriksson miraculously turned round what looked remarkably like a sinking ship, the man that had appointed him just several months earlier would demonstrate the kind of impatience that makes Hearts’ Vladimir Romanov look nonchalant.

What ensued was one of the biggest farces in modern football as Shinawatra’s meagre attempts to have his cake and eat it backfired. Perhaps in the world of politics, where positions of power seem to come before dignity, Eriksson would have clung to his managerial hot-seat regardless of Shinawatra’s blatant thoughts for managerial change at the end of the season. Either way, Eriksson himself knew he was leaving, the club’s fans knew he was leaving and, most significant of all, the players knew he would be leaving.

At the risk of sounding ridiculous, my friendship with one particular City player allowed me an incredible insight into events at the club in the latter half of the season, and it is no wonder Richard Dunne, the captain and immensely popular figure, was close to joining Tottenham Hotspur upon the season’s end. While the 28-year old claimed earlier this week that City “won't be made weaker by business decisions,” he was speaking with his heart rather than his head. Nor is it any surprise that some of the younger, highly-rated players considered their future at the club as their tutor, Eriksson, was forced out by an owner whom they had shared little more than a greeting with spending less and less time in England.

Having already removed the well-respected chief executive, Alistair Mackintosh, and nullified Paul Tyrell, the director of communications, Shinawatra had free reign to mould his putty as he saw fit. City fans must have glanced south and towards Aston Villa, mouthing the words ‘what could have been’ as they saw a group of young, British players reminiscent of their own. While the likes of Ashley Young, Gabriel Abgonlahor and Nigel Reo-Coker helped Martin O’Neill’s side to sixth in the Premier League and developed what promises to be a new era at Villa Park, City’s own crop of promising youngsters, the likes of Joe Hart, Micah Richards, Stephen Ireland and Micahel Johnson, could only watch as their club collapsed around them.

Dramatic

This may all seem very dramatic. The club have, after all, appointed one of the countries most highly-rated managers in Mark Hughes, they finished eighth last term and they have recently completed the £20 million signing of Jô. Yet crucially, the lynchpin of it all, Thaksin, still finds himself in a precarious position with regards to charges of fraud from his homeland, predictably accompanied by numerous bids for extradition by the current Thai government. His wife, Potjaman, has already been convicted of tax evasion and sentenced to three years, though she remains out on bail. How can a flourishing tree grow when its very roots remain weak?

Central to the club’s plight this summer was the fact that, in a Peter Ridsdale-esque fashion, Shinawatra reportedly secured borrowings to purchase the club against the £800 million of money frozen by the Thai regime when he fled the country for Britain last summer. Confident that the money would eventually be released, the 59-year old allegedly took out high-interest loans that are now bringing the club and its owner to their knees as he struggles to finance the repayments without full access to his excessive fortune.

Part of the downfall of Leeds came about when the club decided to enlist the help of Ray Ranson’s company, Registered European Football Finance, to recruit players without incurring the transfer fees. It worked both ways, however, and while the players’ values rose, the club’s precarious finances could not be resolved through the sale of the same players who had been bought in the buy-to-let agreements. Incidentally, Ranson attempted to buy City prior to Shinawatra taking over -how things could have been much rosier had he done so!

You need only read Hughes' comments last week regarding communication at the club to get an insight into the turmoil each and every employee is facing. The last thing a new manager should be concerning themselves with is an undermining of their authority. Yet that is exactly what the disciplined and outspoken former Blackburn Rovers manager had to do as representatives of the owner attempted to conclude the sale of Vedran Corluka to Tottenham Hotspur and Stephen Ireland to Sunderland to ease the finances for at least a few months.

Mayhem

Amid all the mayhem, the new campaign got underway as City hosted FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Cup second-round qualifying round. All of City’s efforts from last season were invested in the tie, but an abysmal performance saw the visitors from Denmark walk away with a 1-0 win. Their manager spoke of poor fitness levels and early season jitters, but then they were hammered 4-2 by Aston Villa and all of a sudden the gaps in their squad and beyond have been further exposed.

Granted, three of the goals came courtesy of Abgonlahor’s sensational performance which included a stunning seven-minute hat-trick, but there was an ill-ease about City’s performance that suggested that there was more to the defeat than a lack of player conditioning. The game with West Ham United next weekend takes on an even greater significance, and it’s hard to imagine Hughes and Hammers manager Alan Curbishley’s post-match drink will be anything other than a sombre affair as both take heed of their respective positions. A loss for City would send them into the second-leg of their UEFA Cup tie, as well as domestic games away to Sunderland and at home to Luiz Felipe Scolari’s Chelsea, on minus confidence.

As Hughes and O’Neill shook hands in the aftermath of Sunday’s clash, you could not help but feel that in the current climate, it was a meeting of two clubs heading in opposite directions. While O’Neill enjoys the understated support of Randy Lerner, Hughes is left to pick up the debris of Shinawatra’s ongoing battle with his former nation. A sinking ship can be stabilised, but it requires all hands on deck and an experienced and committed captain, and it is the latter than should concern City fans.

Source:

Thaksin has poisoned his drinking well

2008-08-17T22:21:00.000-07:00

"Poisoned trees, poisoned fruits.''

So said former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in his handwritten statement issued last week in London to inform the Thai judiciary and all his supporters that he would not come back in the near future to stand trial on the corruption and malfeasance charges brought against him by either the Office of the Attorney-General or the now defunct Assets Scrutiny Committee (ASC).

Mr Thaksin, who is now a fugitive on the run since an arrest warrant was issued against him by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders, did not elaborate on the message he intended to convey with the poisoned trees, poisoned fruits comment.

But it is widely understood that he meant the existing constitution, crafted by an assembly appointed by the military junta which ousted him from power two years ago, and the ASC are the poisoned fruit.

In the narrow mindset of the ex-premier, his cronies and members of the People Power party (PPP), certain provisions of the charter were drafted with the intention of clipping the wings of Mr Thaksin and going after his assets.

The charter and the ASC have been blamed for the misfortune befalling Mr Thaksin, his family and the PPP.

Which explains why his faithful followers in the PPP have persistently attempted to rewrite the charter to remove all these ''unfair'' provisions. The recent failed attempt by party members to amend a clause to ban street protests that were not first granted permission from authorities was apparently just a diversion to distract public attention away from other amendments.

But for Mr Thaksin's opponents, he was seen as the poisoned tree and the actual cause of all the political ills affecting the country for the past couple of years.

He was regarded as the unpredictable mutated product of the so-called People's Constitution, the 1997 charter which was thrown out by the junta.

Mr Thaksin and his cronies had taken full advantage of loopholes in the 1997 charter for their vested interests. They managed to dominate the House and the Senate through money politics and also managed to cripple the checks-and-balances mechanisms in the charter.

The former Election Commission, headed by Pol Gen Vassana Permlarp, for instance, was a complete farce and a sham. The Senate, which was supposed to maintain checks on the Thaksin regime, was useless.

Only the judiciary managed to escape Mr Thaksin's power grab and still remains independent from political interference.

The conviction of his wife, Khunying Potjaman, her half-brother Bannapot Damapong and private secretary Kanchana Honghern for tax evasion by the Criminal Court and the trial of Mr Thaksin by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders on the Ratchadaphisek land scandal should testify to the judiciary's independence and its new role as a checks-and-balances mechanism against political abuses while the legislature has become dysfunctional.

Thus it came as no surprise Mr Thaksin picked the fight against the judiciary the day he escaped to London instead of returning home to stand trial on the land controversy.

In his statement, Mr Thaksin accused the judiciary of being biased against him and of adopting a double standard.

In a quick response, the court issued an arrest warrant for him and his wife.

Mr Thaksin could have laid low and avoided offending the judiciary with his self-serving criticism. Probably at the moment of desperation while he was writing his statement, he thought his day would come some day in the future that he would be coming back in a triumphant manner and deal with what he alleged was a biased justice system.

But for the time being, he has different status. That of a fugitive.

-----

Veera Prateepchaikul is Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Post Publishing Co Ltd.

Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/180808_News/18Aug2008_news24.php

City Fans Face An Uncertain Future

2008-08-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

"Everybody is laughing at us . . . again. But this is Manchester City, we'll still come here, 40,000 of us every week," insists one valiant club fan.

Owner Thaksin Shinawatra leaves the club in uncertain times

The words of this one City fan sum up the mood of the masses.

The start of a new season is meant to be a time for optimism among football fans, a few weeks when everybody can look to the future and hope.

But it's proving hard to find optimists here at the ticket office outside the City of Manchester Stadium.

Following this club has always been a rollercoaster ride - at the moment you get the impression the supporters just crave stability.

Billionaire chairman Thaksin Shinawatra is wanted in his home country of Thailand on charges of corruption and abuse of power, plus £800m of his assets have been frozen pending a verdict.

Speculation has surrounded the future of new manager Mark Hughes and there are whispers that star players like Vedran Corluka and Stephen Ireland could be leaving.

All in all, City fans feel they have every reason to be downcast as the new Premier League gets under way.

"It's the uncertainty that is getting to people," says Kevin Parker from the Man City Supporters Club.

"People are looking at the financial side of all this and worrying because you think of what happened to Leeds United.

"Look at them now, they're in a division we were in seven or eight years ago and we don't want to go back to that."

A top 10 finish and a place in the UEFA Cup wasn't enough to keep Sven Goran Eriksson in his job as City manager and his successor has been busy this week answering questions about the situation on and off the pitch.

I am very focused on what I aim to achieve here and that means success on the pitch.

Manchester City Manager Mark Hughes

"I had a meeting with all the players this week and the contents will remain private," Mark Hughes told reporters.

"Basically we needed to make the group aware that I'm in charge and will make decisions that will affect players."

Hughes added that every football club attracts its share of speculation and that he believes most of it is not grounded in fact.

What is fact is that an arrest warrant has been issued in Thailand for City's owner.

Mr Thaksin maintains the charges are politically motivated and an attempt to remove him from politics.

We'll soon find out what affect the coverage of his situation has had on City's players and their motivation.

Source: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/Manchester-City-FC-Faces-A-Gloomy-Season-As-Thai-Owner-Facing-Arrest/Article/200808315079604

Anti-Thaksin group to march to British embassy

2008-08-16T09:27:00.000-07:00

The anti-government People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) plans to march to the British embassy here on Tuesday to rebut critical remarks made by Thailand's fugitive ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra against the Thai judiciary system, a PAD core member said Saturday.

Pipop Thongchai, a core leader of the PAD, said the protest coalitions members and supporters would march from the Makkawan Bridge to the British Embassy with the purpose of explaining to the international community that charges made by Mr. Thaksin against the Thai judiciary system were untrue.

Mr. Pipop said he would also explain to the embassy that Mr. Thaksin, his wife Mrs. Pojaman and the ousted cabinet ministers are also facing charges pending in court.

Booted from office in a bloodless coup on Sept 19, 2006, multi-billionaire Thaksin and his wife flew from Beijing to London, bypassing a court date in Bangkok, after attending the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

They failed to appear on Monday at the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions to defend themselves against charges related to the Bangkok land scandal which occurred in 2003 while he was in power.

In a statement faxed to media outlets in Bangkok on Monday from London, Mr. Thaksin cited his personal safety concerns and interference in the judicial process by political forces set against him among the reasons for his fleeing Thailand.

The Court on Monday issued arrest warrants for the couple and also confiscated bail totaling Bt13 million (US$389,000).

Praising the Thai judicial system on the case, Mr. Pipop said more foreign investors are now hoping to invest in Thailand because they are gaining more confidence in doing business in this country.

He ehphasised that the planned march to the embassy in central Bangkok would be peaceful.

Meanwhile, national police chief Pol. Gen. Patcharawat Wongsuwan said he had ordered Bangkok police to be patient and provide security to the PAD members while the gather at the British embassy.

Gen. Patcharawat said concerned Thai government agencies are now trying to extradite Mr. Thaksin to face trial here and that there is no need for the PAD to pressure the agencies. (TNA)

Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=129695

Premier League must shoulder Thaksin blame

2008-08-16T05:47:00.001-07:00

It could only happen to Manchester City. Mark Hughes has been forced to distance himself from reports of an early exit from Eastlands as the club's erstwhile owner seeks political asylum in Guildford. The theatre of base comedy has plunged to a new low. Though few Blues will see the funny side, their despair giving way to wondering just how their club was allowed to collapse into this mess.

Empics

Thaksin: Seeking asylum as Thai judiciary further charges of corruption and fraud.

And they could ask what football's authorities did to stop it happening in the first place. The answer is very little indeed.When former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra bought the club last summer amid much fanfare, many observers wondered just how a man on corruption charges who has long been accused of human rights' abuses was allowed to take over a Premier League club.Surely safeguards against such a thing existed? Yet Dr Thaksin sailed past the 'fit and proper persons' test supposedly set down to any prospective owner by the Premier League.Tuesday saw Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore say that his organisation is monitoring the situation at City closely. A classic case of bolting the stable door after the horse has bolted. Too little too late. The damage looks likely to be already done.With Thaksin having fled Thailand rather than answer charges of corruption and fraud, his wife also skipping bail from appeal after being found guilty of similar charges, City's chances of gaining access to Thaksin's £800m fortune became just higher than zero.Reports suggest that Sven Goran Eriksson's heavy spending of last summer is still yet to be paid for, with much of the money owed to European banks.There are scant funds for new manager Hughes to spend as the transfer window creaks shut. Young stars Verdran Corluka and Stephen Ireland were put up for firesale only for Hughes to cling on to them as both seemed destined for the Eastlands exit.Hughes has described recent events as a 'difficult week'; typically understated from a former Blackburn and Wales boss who also bears the look of a bemused man. Hughes is a fighter and will keep fighting, that is his nature. If only the Premier League had shown a fraction of his determination in a fight to keep bad pennies out of the English game.Questions have been asked of several owners over the last few years; Roman Abramovich had his doubters on his arrival at Chelsea and Sacha Gaydamak's ownership of Portsmouth was under heavy suspicion. However, neither of these Russian émigrés faced criminal charges at the time of their purchase of their respective club.Thaksin was able to seize control of City, despite it being public knowledge that a major proportion of his assets were being impounded by Thailand's government. This may also have begged questions whether he truly possessed the assets to buy and then run a Premier League club.Players Alan Smith, Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer have been withdrawn from England duty in recent years when facing criminal charges. No such action on ownership was taken by a Premier League too happy to count the cash and congratulate itself on becoming a global brand.Some of those, including outgoing chairman John Wardle, who received the £81.6m Thaksin paid for the club are said have expressed regret at making the wrong decision. Rumours of unpaid solicitor's bills arising from the sale abound too.The depth of City's problems is yet to be fully revealed. By then, with Thaksin said to have placed the club in the hands of his children via shell companies, there may be little that the Premier League can do to change the situation. Those likely to suffer most are the club's fans and Hughes, who seems set to be denied the chance to take the step to a bigger club he stated as his desire on leaving Blackburn.As a result of their inaction on Thaksin's takeover, the Premier League may suffer further loss to a reputation already sullied by the '39th game' fiasco. It would only be fit and proper that it did.

Source: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=562509&sec=england&&cc=4716

Court does not allow lawyers to withdraw from Ratchadpisek land case

2008-08-16T04:36:00.000-07:00

The Supreme Court Friday refused to allow two lawyers of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra to withdraw themselves from the case.

The two lawyers, Khamnuan Chalopatham and Anek Khamchum, reasoned to the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions that their clients no longer wanted to use their service.

The two lawyers also asked the court to dismiss the case on ground that the defendants had fled aboard and were outside the court's jurisdiction.

But the court ordered the two lawyers to continue to represent the couple and refused to dismiss the case.

The court said the two defendants simply forfeited their right to fight the case.

The court also ordered the two lawyers to proceed with presenting testimonies of five defence witnesses to the court as initially scheduled.

Source: http://nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/read.php?newsid=30080682

Police circulate arrest warrants for Thaksin and Pojaman

2008-08-16T04:28:00.000-07:00

The Royal Thai Police on Thursday started distributing two arrest warrants for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Khunying Pojaman.

The warrant for Thaksin has the statue of limitations for 15 years and the one for Pojaman is enforced for 10 years.

The Supreme Court issued the warrants on Monday after Thaksin and Pojaman jumped bails and failed to report themselves on the Ratchadapisek land case.

As the two fugitives have fled to London, the next step for police is to coordinate with the Office of the Attorney General to initiate the extradition request, Police spokesman Lt General Watcharaphol Prasanratchakit said.

Meanwhile Wichit Plangsrikul, a lawyer of Thaksin said the Royal Thai Police's distribution of the warrants across the country could be deemed as an abuse against the couple.

"The move is not suitable and might have broken the law because they deliberately defamed them. The police might have broken the law. The police did not need to do that because Thaksin had said he and his family would live in the United Kingdom,'' he said.

Wichit said Thaksin was not yet a convict because he had not been convicted by any court so he did not believe that the Attorney General could take recourse the extradition treaty to bring Thaksin back.

He said Thaksin had not yet sought exile in the United Kingdom but if he did he would cite the interference in the judiciary and his personal safety as the reason.

Thaksin had instructed him and his lawyers to pursue the libels cases against those involved in put him on the trial on graft charges and fight on his behalf in those cases.

Source: http://nationmultimedia.com/2008/08/14/politics/politics_30080547.php

Thaksin Shinawatra could face deportation

2008-08-16T04:18:00.000-07:00

Thailand's Ministry of Foreign affairs have said that they were considering revoking the diplomatic passport of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who fled to Britain with his wife on Sunday, prompting the country’s Supreme Court to issue arrest warrants for them.

Probe: Thaksin Shinawatra is facing extradition Photo: Getty Images

Thai Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag said their supreme court must officially inform his ministry of Thaksin’s flight from the country amid a corruption probe, which would then begin the process of determining whether the billionaire’s diplomatic passport would be voided, the Thai News Agency reported.

Thaksin is known to have two passports, and the consequences of losing his official passport is likely to be little more than symbolic for the Manchester City owner.

According to the Thai News Agency, Bunnag said officials from his ministry would need to speak with the Thai embassy in London, as well as the British Home and Foreign Offices, regarding the possibility of extradition to Thailand.

A Thai foreign ministry official said they had not received any information as to whether Thaksin, and his wife, Khunying Pojaman, who is on bail after being sentenced on July 31 to three years in prison on tax evasion charges, would seek political asylum in Britain.

In a faxed statement to news outlets in Bangkok, Thaksin explained his weekend flight to Britain, saying he was forced to flee because his political foes were tinkering with the judicial system to get rid of him and his family.

Thaksin’s latest self-exile comes less than six months after his return to Thailand after a 2006 military coup that ousted him as Prime Minister.

Meanwhile, Bangkok’s supreme court is continuing with their probe into a corruption case against the Thaksins involving their purchase of prime Bangkok real estate in 2003. The purchase from the Bank of Thailand at a bargain price took place while Thaksin was Prime Minister. Thaksin and his wife deny any wrongdoing.

Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2548613/Thaksin-Shinawatra-could-face-deportation--Football.html

Only Thaksin feels chill from latest credit crunch

2008-08-16T04:13:00.000-07:00

Fantasy football is fun but the reality is funnier. Nobody could make it up. A Premier League referee is suspended because he did not tell the authorities that, allegedly, he owes £60,000 yet the four leading clubs will kick off the season this weekend £2bn in debt and hardly shouting it from the rooftops.

There was a time when anyone could take over a football club without having to prove he could run a whelk stall, let alone a country. Who else but Manchester City could find themselves in the singular situation of being owned by a former prime minister of Thailand who has fled a corruption hearing back home, denying all charges and leaving behind £800m in frozen assets with no undersoil heating? Meanwhile Thaksin Shinawatra has been snapped shopping in Guildford, that notorious refuge for former Asian rulers on the run.

Before Thaksin turned up at City some of their supporters doubtless associated Thailand solely with Siamese cats and thought it was still being run by Yul Brynner. The Premier League has mumbled about waiting for the outcome of the Thaksin's trial in absentia before deciding whether he is a fit and proper person to be in charge at Eastlands. Either way, Richard Scudamore must be thanking his lucky stars that Robert Maxwell did not buy Manchester United while learning to float.

Football always did swim against the tide. As the country enters a period of financial restraint the Premier League has spent another summer tightroping it, like Blondin, across a financial Niagara Falls. Leaving aside the fanciful sums which clubs are said to be willing to pay - like the £78m Chelsea are apparently itching to spend on Kaka - the sums actually agreed still beggar belief.

Robbie Keane, for whom Liverpool have paid Tottenham £20.3m, is a proven striker but he is 28, had barely played Champions League football before Wednesday night, and will need to form an instant and prolific partnership with Fernando Torres to convince Anfield's arguing American owners that Rafael Benítez has not paid too much for too little.

Reports that Sir Alex Ferguson was considering bidding £20m to bring Thierry Henry to Manchester United from Barcelona may have been designed to gee up Dimitar Berbatov's move from Spurs. The notion of Ferguson parting with such a sum for the former Arsenal man, who will be 31 tomorrow and has had problems with sciatica, is indeed fantastic. Yet this is a world in which the English transfer record remains the £30.8m Chelsea paid Milan for Andriy Shevchenko two summers ago, since when the Ukrainian has shuttled between treatment room and bench while making only sporadic appearances in matches.

The usual noises are being made about football's extravagance at a time of economic hardship, but it was ever thus. At the beginning of the 1980s the nation was being told to tighten its belt yet Manchester City still spent £1.43m on Steve Daley and £1m on Kevin Reeves; these were then huge sums and to the majority of clubs below the top level, would be huge sums still. Garry Birtles, one of the sales of the century, moved from Nottingham Forest to Manchester United for £1.25m and came back two years later for £300,000. He cost United roughly £86,000 a goal.

Yet wages rather than transfer fees are the main drain on the modern game. Players are often accused of greed when they reject contracts which would bring them several times in a week what the average wage-earner gets in a year. But it is a bit like the world of film and pop stars, where vast sums are so regularly earned and spent that within these circles they become the norm. As footballers approach 30, moreover, they sense that their future earning power is limited so they go for as much as they can while they can. It is less a matter of greed than gut instinct.

Not that it is all about money even now. To play at the top level and win international caps players need to appear regularly in the Champions League. The likes of Berbatov and Gareth Barry know that however well they perform for Tottenham and Aston Villa, the chances of their making the Champions League while staying put are remote. Once they have reached their late 20s they have to make a move, which Barry will probably do eventually even though he cannot now play in the group stages of this season's Champions League having appeared for Villa in a Uefa Cup qualifier on Thursday.

This is what the polarisation of the Premier League has brought about. Manchester City, meanwhile, will be thinking more about a line from The King and I: 'He had a thousand dreams that won't come true . . .' And wake up in a cold sweat.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/aug/16/premierleague.manchestercity

League ready to subject Thaksin to second fit and proper test

2008-08-16T04:07:00.000-07:00

Thaksin Shinawatra has skipped bail in Thailand and fled to Britain. Photograph: Dave Thompson/PA

The Premier League is facing an unprecedented trial of its fit and proper persons test after arrest warrants were issued for the Manchester City owner, Thaksin Shinawatra, in Thailand yesterday. His next step may be to apply for political asylum in Britain but, should he be convicted in Thailand in his absence, the Premier League would be prepared to reassess his suitability to own a club.

In what would be an unprecedented case the Premier League would take legal advice before making a decision that could result in Thaksin having to sell his stake in Manchester City. Whether the league would recognise a conviction in Thailand should Thaksin receive political asylum has yet to be determined. The league could yet be spared that difficulty if Thaksin elects to sell the club, although a City spokesman yesterday said the businessman has no such plans.

Under the fit and proper persons test "any director is automatically disqualified if convicted of one of a number of offences by a 'competent court' anywhere in the world". Thaksin is currently a "fit and proper" owner as he has not been convicted. He has denied the charges, claiming they were politically motivated.

Legal officials in Bangkok have confirmed the case against Thaksin will continue in his absence. The Thai authorities may also seek to extradite the billionaire and his wife unless they are granted political asylum. Two weeks ago Thaksin's wife, Pojaman, was sentenced to three years in jail for tax fraud but was granted bail.

Richard Scudamore, the Premier League chief executive, said: "If we feel the rule has been breached, we will invoke it. We will not turn a blind eye to issues of a serious nature. As always, we will take advice from the Home Office and the Foreign Office."

A court in Bangkok issued the warrants after the deposed Thai prime minister and his wife fled to Britain on Sunday rather than face corruption charges. They travelled to London from the Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing . Thaksin claimed "that there is a continuation of dictatorship in Thai politics ... which is followed by interference in the justice system".

Of more concern to City fans is the club's increasingly uncertain financial future. Thaksin is unable to release an estimated £800m in assets frozen by the Thai government in June last year and was seeking new investors in the club prior to his latest exile.

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/aug/12/manchestercity.premierleague1

Thaksin’s Extradition Sought by Thai Lawyers

2008-08-16T04:02:00.000-07:00

Public prosecutors in Thailand are looking into the possibility of trying to extradite former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Potjaman from Britain, where they have fled to escape court appearances in connection with charges carrying heavy prison penalties.

Potjaman Shinawatra jumped bail after her conviction of tax avoidance offences and a sentence of three years imprisonment. She was also due to appear in court to face further charges in connection with a real estate deal.

Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra (R) and his wife Potjaman Shinawatra wade through the photographers at the criminal court in Bangkok on July 31. (Photo: Reuters)

Her husband—Thailand’s prime minister from 2000 until his ouster in 2006—faced several charges, including one arising from his government’s grant of a loan to the Burmese regime to buy Shinawatra family-owned satellite services.

Thaksin said he and members of his family had fled the country because they feared for their safety and were being treated unfairly by the country’s current justice system, which the former premier accused of double standards.

Thaksin’s attack on the justice system drew a rapid response from the leader of Thailand’s opposition Democrat Party, Abhisit Vejajiva, who said it cast doubt within the international community on the reliability of the country’s judges and lawyers.

Thailand’s Lawyers Council also condemned Thaksin’s attack, describing it as “unforgivable.” If Thaksin was confident of his innocence he should fight his case through legal process, said Council Chairman Dejudom Krairuek.

Legal steps are also being taken to strip Thaksin and his wife of their assets. Bank accounts containing 69 billion baht (US $2 billion) have already been frozen, and Deputy Attorney General Waiyawut Lotrakul said on Tuesday public prosecutors had applied to the Attorney-General for approval to seize Bt76 billion ($2.3 billion) of Shinawatra family assets.

Thaksin also stands to lose his ownership of the English Premier League football club Manchester City. Premier League rules bar convicted criminals of owning clubs, and if convicted by a Thai court, even in his absence, Thaksin could be forced to sell his majority stake in Manchester City.

Thaksin, his wife and their children arrived in London on Monday from Beijing, where they had attended the opening days of the Olympic Games.

The Thaksin couple had been summoned to appear that day before the Thai Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions in Bangkok. They are charged with abuse of authority and corruption in Potjaman's 2003 purchase of a valuable plot of land in Bangkok from a state agency.

The Criminal Court earlier sentenced Potjaman to three years in jail for tax evasion in the transfer of her shares to her step-brother Bhanapot Damapong with the help of her secretary Kanchanapa. Bhanapot was sentenced to three years imprisonment and Kanchanapa to two years. Both have also reportedly fled to London.

Source: http://www.irrawaddy.org/article.php?art_id=13846

Thaksin Case Can Proceed, Thai Court Says

2008-08-16T03:59:00.000-07:00

BANGKOK — A corruption trial of ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife can proceed, despite the fact the couple fled to Britain earlier this week, a court ruled Friday.

The Supreme Court rejected a request from lawyers of Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman, to suspend the malfeasance and conflict of interest trial. The charges stem from Pojaman's 2003 purchase of a plot of land in central Bangkok from a government agency when Thaksin was the country's prime minister.

"The trial must proceed even through the defendant is absent because they earlier agreed to allow the hearing to go on," Thonglor Chomngam, chief of the nine-judge panel, told the court.

An anti-corruption law bars prime ministers and their spouses from doing business with government agencies. But there is some dispute over whether the law applies in this case because the agency that sold the land to Pojaman was not technically under the authority of the prime minister.

Both Thaksin and his wife fled to Britain on Monday, contending they couldn't get a fair trial in Thailand. The government gave them permission to go to China for the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics on the understanding they would return for their trial.

The Supreme Court has issued arrest warrants for both, and Thai prosecutors said they were discussing the possibility of asking for Thaksin's extradition—usually a lengthy and complicated process.

He had come home to Thailand less than six months ago after an extended period of exile following his ouster in a bloodless military coup in September 2006. He spent much of his time at his London residence and traveling around Europe and Asia making business deals, most notably the purchase of the Britain's Manchester City soccer club.

Thaksin, 59, faces several other court cases and investigations into alleged corruption and abuse of power during his five years in office. He has repeatedly claimed he is innocent of all charges.

On July 31, the criminal court convicted his wife of evading millions of dollars in taxes and sentenced her to three years in prison. She was released on bail.

Waiting for Thaksin

2008-08-16T03:58:00.000-07:00

By Veera Prateepchaikul

With the odds seemingly piling up against him, the question most people want answered is what Thaksin Shinawatra will do next - throw in the towel and quit politics for good, or fight on like a cornered animal?

By now, everyone should have heard about the shocking prison sentence handed down by the Criminal Court against Potjaman Shinawatra, her stepbrother Bannapot Damapong and her secretary Kanchana Honghern after they were found guilty of tax evasion.

The sentence itself, three years for Khunying Potjaman and Bannapot and two for Kanchana, was not as hard-hitting and embarrassing as was the court's written reproach against the former first lady and Bannapot.

It reads: "The second defendant [Potjaman] was the wife of a holder of the top national political office who aside from being bound to behave like a decent citizen was expected to set a good example befitting her economic and social status... The amount of taxes to be paid by the first defendant [Bannapot] in accordance with the law and was finally paid by the second defendant [Potjaman] on his behalf could not be compared with the amount of assets held by the second defendant and her family at the time."

Although the case is not final and will definitely drag on up to the Supreme Court, all I can say about the case and its key players is that it is just the Buddhist law of karma.

But the karma does not end there for the Shinawatra family. Khunying Potjaman and her husband, former prime minister Thaksin, are being tried in the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions for alleged wrongdoing in the Ratchadaphisek land scandal. Two other cases against Mr Thaksin, namely the lottery case and the Exim Bank's Burma loan case, are still pending in the same court. Five additional cases, all involving alleged abuse of authority, are pending with the Office of the Attorney-General against Mr Thaksin and his cronies.

With the odds seemingly piling up against Mr Thaksin - including the conviction of his wife, the recent imprisonment of three members of his legal staff in connection with 2.2 million baht in bribe money stuffed in a lunch box, plus a series of legal cases against him - the questions that most people want to know are: What will Thaksin do next? Will he, this time, throw in the towel and quit politics for good? Or will he fight on like a cornered animal?

Some analysts believe Thaksin is discouraged by the legal odds against him and may really want to wash his hands of politics to save his own skin and that of his family. They cite the latest cabinet shakeup, almost completely handled by the so-called Gang of Four - Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, his secretary-general Theerapol Nopparampa, Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee and Newin Chidchob - with scarcely any interference from the real boss.

It will be a blessing for the country if Thaksin really quits politics and doesn't continue to pull the strings.

It will also be much better if he takes a long leave of absence from the country to let the political situation settle peacefully and the political divide gradually heal.

Like it or not, Thaksin himself is the only real problem with our political predicament.

So will the legal mess change Thaksin?

Despite his earlier pledges to leave politics, that now ring hollow, and his occasional sweet words for the country, there have been no concrete actions to back up the rhetoric.

Political manoeuvring, both in the open and underground, have been fiercely waged by his cronies and followers to discredit independent organisations such as the National Counter Corruption Commission and the Election Commission which were blamed for all the troubles befalling Thaksin and Co.

And they have moved to seize control of certain independent agencies which have persistently defied political interference. Such a move on the Bank of Thailand was manifested by the government's appointment of a new bank board which is heavily infiltrated with Thaksin cronies.

The self-serving bid to rewrite the constitution which was primarily intended to exonerate the former Thai Rak Thai executives exiled into the political wilderness has been postponed for now. But once launched, it will amount to pouring fuel on the fire and the People's Alliance for Democracy will step up its protest against the government with the potential that, this time, violence may be inevitable if the pro-government force opts for a showdown.

Again, if Thaksin really wants to quit politics and to see national reconciliation, our country would not have descended to the brink and we would not have to so hopelessly ask: When will blood be spilled again?

Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=129295

Fugitive Thaksin

2008-08-16T03:54:00.000-07:00

The Supreme Court issued arrest warrants Monday for former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and Khunying Potjamarn, after a fax declared "I have decided to live in England" rather than face court cases at home.

The Supreme Court's division for political office holders ordered the warrants and seized 13 million baht ($389,222) in bail deposited by the billionaire former first couple. They missed a scheduled appearance on Monday after spending the weekend in Beijing to attend the Olympics.

Mr Thaksin claimed that he was being defamed and threatened. The former premier said he will always be loyal to the royal constitution, and is not an evil person as being accused.

If there is a chance, he would like to live and die in Thailand, according to the statement.

"I have decided to live in England," Thaksin said in the hand-written statement faxed to TV stations to explain his failure to return to Thailand.

Thaksin owns the Manchester City Football Club and several properties in Britain and has a currently valid business to reside in the country. The Thai media spoke of "political asylum" but it is unlikely Thaksin will need to resort to that.

In his statement, Thaksin claimed that his court cases were part of a campaign by his political enemies to keep him out of politics.

"What has happened to me and my family is the fruit of a poisoned tree," said Thaksin, who argued that his political enemies had biased the investigations into corruption charges against him in the aftermath of his overthrow by a military coup on Sept 19, 2006.

Thaksin and Khunying Potjamarn flew to London Sunday night from Beijing where they had attended the opening ceremony of the Olympics on Friday.

The Supreme Court on July 29 granted the fugitive couple permission to travel to Beijing on the stipulation that they returned to Thailand Monday to stand trial later this week in the Ratchadaphist land case, in which the couple stand accused of abusing power in a land purchase deal in 2003 when Thaksin was still prime minister.

The couple had booked return tickets on Thai Airways International flight 615 Sunday night but never boarded the plane.

Thaksin faces at least four corruption and abuse of power cases from his controversial premiership while his wife was sentenced to three years in prison on a tax evasion charge on July 31. She had appealed the verdict.

He was twice elected prime minister and served from 2001 until Sept 19, 2006, when he was toppled by a military coup on charges of corruption, dividing the nation and undermining democracy and the monarchy.

Their three children - son Panthongtae and daughters Pinthongta and Paethongtan - departed Bangkok for London on Saturday.

Political observers viewed Thaksin's decision to seek asylum abroad as the end of his political career.

"His political career is effectively finished in the event that he seeks asylum or goes in to exile because if the court cases go against him he will be a fugitive," said Thitinan Pongsudhirak, director of the Institute of Security and International Studies (ISIS) at Chulalongkorn University and Bangkok Post analyst.

Although he is closely allied to the People Power Party, that leads the current government, Thaksin's political clout has not protected him from the Thai judiciary which is pressing several cases against the former first couple and has already sentenced his wife to jail.

He remains one of the most popular, and controversial, political figures. (BangkokPost.com, dpa)

Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=129527

Thaksin: I'll be back

2008-08-16T03:53:00.000-07:00

Two intimates of the family of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra waved off speculation on Thursday he would go into exile to avoid court cases and possible prison sentences.

Mr Thaksin's brother-in-law Somchai Wongsawat, who is deputy prime minister and education minister, insisted deposed premier Thaksin and his wife Khunying Potjaman are not seeking political asylum, and they will return to fight their charges in Thailand.

His personal spokeswoman Sansanee Nakpong said the same thing: "He has told me he will return as planned and so far I haven't been informed of any change of plan."

Khunying Potjaman, her step-brother Bannapot Damapong and Mrs Thaksin's secretary Kanchanapa Honghern left Thailand on Thursday morning on a Thai Airways International flight to Beijing. Some of her three children broke down into tears as they saw her off.

Reports have been rife that they would seek political asylum after the Criminal Court sentenced the three to jail.

Adding a touch of irony, Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej also departed for the opening of the Beijing Olympics - on the same flight as Khunying Potjaman.

Mr Thaksin is scheduled to return from China on Sunday. He flew from Thailand to Japan on July 31 to give a special lecture before proceeding to Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Rumours that Mr Thaksin would go into exile and save the country a lot of political turmoil helped to send shares at the Stock Exchange of Thailand leaping up by more than 4 per cent on Thursday, brokers claimed.

(Other brokers, however, credited falling oil prices and a partial return of foreign funds to the SET for the rise.)

Mr Thaksin and his wife are both travelling abroad, with court permission. They are to meet in China as the Olympics begin on Friday, and are to return - under terms of their agreement with the court - next Monday.

"Please wait until he returns," said Ms Sansanee to reporters. "Please avoid any speculation for now."

Mr Somchai said Mr Thaksin will appear before the court on Aug 11 as ordered. He said the ousted prime minister has always followed the court’s orders.

The court earlier found Khunying Potjaman, and her step-brother guilty of conspiring to evade taxes of 546 million baht on the transfer of shares in Shinawatra Computer and Communication, the old name for Shin Corp.

They were sentenced to three years in jail, and Khunying Potjaman's secretary Karnchanapa Honghern received a two-year prison sentence in the case. All three are out on bail while the case is appealed.

Mr Somchai said Khunying Potjaman still has confidence in the Thai justice system, and will appeal her case normally.

Source: http://www.bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=129411

Court to try Thaksin in absentia

2008-08-16T03:40:00.000-07:00

Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in the UK last week

A corruption case against ousted leader Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife will go ahead even though they have fled to the UK, a Thai court has ruled.

Lawyers for the couple had argued proceedings should be suspended because they were no longer living in Thailand.

But the court said the case - related to a Bangkok land sale - should proceed with the couple in absentia.

Mr Thaksin flew to the UK last week, saying he feared he would not receive a fair trial in Thailand.

The telecommunications billionaire faces a raft of corruption allegations there and a court recently sentenced his wife to three years in jail.

Mr Thaksin has repeatedly denied the allegations, which he says are an attempt to remove him from politics.

The former prime minister had only returned to Thailand in February, 18 months after the military ousted him in a coup.

The Supreme Court said there was no reason to suspend proceedings against Mr Thaksin and his wife.

"The court still has jurisdiction to proceed with the case and there is no reason to dismiss the case," Chief Judge Tonglor Chomngarm said.

Thai authorities say they are considering an extradition request for the former leader, who owns Manchester City football club.

Earlier in the week Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag said Thailand would cancel Mr Thaksin's diplomatic passport "as soon as possible" - in what analysts say could be a first step towards seeking his extradition.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7563720.stm

Man City boss calms Thaksin fears

2008-08-16T03:38:00.000-07:00

Shinawatra fled to Britain with his wife on Sunday

Manchester City's executive chairman Garry Cook says the uncertainty around owner Thaksin Shinawatra does not pose any threat to the club's stability.

There is a warrant for his arrest in Thailand and the Premier League says he may take its 'fit and proper person test' to see if he can own a club.

"City's future is not in jeopardy. In the short term it's business as usual," Cook told the Manchester Evening News.

"He's willing to look at whatever it takes to make City a great club."

An arrest warrant for the former Thai Prime Minister was issued after he failed to appear in court in Bangkok on Monday.

The test was introduced to ensure that only "fit and proper people" are owners or directors of Premier League clubs.

It states that "any director of a club is automatically disqualified if convicted of one of a number of offences by a 'competent court' anywhere in the world."

Premier League chief executive Richard Scudamore said: "If we feel the rule has been breached, we will invoke it.

"(But) we have a club owner who has not yet been found guilty of any offence."

The test was introduced to ensure that only "fit and proper people" are owners or directors of Premier League clubs.

We will not turn a blind eye to issues of a serious nature

Richard Scudamore
Premier League chief executive

Thaksin is currently facing charges of corruption and abuse of power in Thailand, which he has denied.

The Thai government could ask for Britain to extradite Thaksin so he can face trial in Bangkok.

The two countries have a long-standing extradition treaty and Thailand's democratic government is recognised by Britain.

Scudamore added: "We will not turn a blind eye to issues of a serious nature (but) it is quite a complex matter and we can't just make a judgement on the spot."

He also said the league would seek advice from the UK Home Office and Foreign Office before making any decision.

Thaksin's wife, Pojaman, was sentenced to three years in jail for tax fraud two weeks ago but was granted bail.

The couple fled to Britain on Sunday after watching the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing.

But Cook said City fans had nothing to fear and the turmoil surrounding him would not impact on manager Mark Hughes' plans for the new season.

"We don't rely on Dr Thaksin's money," he said.

"When Mark Hughes makes a decision we go through the normal process, which can include banks, finance or a whole bunch of different things just like any other club."

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/teams/m/man_city/7555512.stm

Thaksin's fast exit compounds City's on-pitch troubles

2008-08-16T03:33:00.001-07:00

Oustanding questions over club owner and several players put Hughes' side in turmoil

By Ian Herbert
Tuesday, 12 August 2008

A grimace crosses the face of Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Thai prime minister, as he leaves court, with his daughters following, during his corruption trial in Bangkok

ENLARGE

It wasn't quite the pre-season preparation Manchester City had in mind for the man who is supposed to be bankrolling an assault on the upper reaches of the Premier League. The club's chairman, Thaksin Shinawatra, was holed up in a London hotel yesterday after flying directly from Beijing to London to skip bail and avoid corruption charges of which he is now rumoured to be convicted in his absence over the next few months. The Premier League will then take Home Office advice before deciding whether he is a fit and proper person to own a club. He might even be removed under Britain's 103-year-old extradition treaty with Thailand, now that an elected government runs that country.

The jitters at City have not been helped by a sense that the club have problems on the playing side as well, though those are not as profound as they might seem. Stephen Ireland is not leaving and no offers have been received for him, despite the player's agent calling City's new chief executive, Paul Aldridge, and suggesting that since two clubs were interested he should perhaps be stood down for Saturday's friendly with Milan. The powers of persuasion of City's manager, Mark Hughes, have also proved critical in Vedran Corluka's U-turn on a move to Tottenham Hotspur, which has left the London club fuming.

But City could have done without the unexpected turn of events in Bangkok, which have seen the Thai judiciary prove far more obstinate than Thaksin expected when he returned to Bangkok from his last period of British exile, in February, to defend his name and reclaim £800m of frozen assets.

Rumour had been rife since the conviction last week of his wife, Potjaman, that they would flee and the ease with which the couple were granted permission to leave the country to attend the Olympic Games suggests he first cut a deal with his adversaries, who just wanted him out. Thaksin was known to have been saying goodbyes before leaving for Beijing, where he has been seeking corporate partners for City with the club's executive director, Garry Cook. The large suitcases which the couple took with them were rather a giveaway, too.

Of course, City fans just want to know whether the money has run out for their "Frank Sinatra". Thaksin remains a hugely wealthy individual; owner of the listed SC urban development company which has a large property portfolio in Bangkok and the sale of the family company in 2006 has also left him with major liquid assets. But he was first exiled in such a hurry – by telephone while at the United Nations – that there was insufficient time to clear much money out of Thailand and he has yet to dig deep for the club.

His initial purchase of the club cost him only £21.6m in equity purchase, with £60m of the £81.6m headline figure of the takeover an assumption of existing debt. There was a hint of a lack of readies when down payments on players picked up last season were small, leaving Thaksin with an estimated outstanding liability of £50m on players purchased, most of that repayable in short periods.

And on top of that, Thaksin is known to have spent heavily to rehabilitate his image since returning to the Far East. "It's a fairly mercenary system here and you always had the impression he could buy his way out of trouble," his biographer, Chris Baker said yesterday. Football club ownership seems to have been more than a means of winning publicity back in Thailand for an individual who almost bought into Liverpool. But whether he can afford to maintain his interest remains to be seen. City fans only take heart from the fact that their owner is a supreme entrepreneur. He has identified the global value of City and has been working on sponsorship and brand deals in the Far East with Cook.

The chairman's calamities have taken the club a long way from the aspirations of purchasing Ronaldinho, which now seem a distant dream. Michael Johnson, whose attitude has been a problem to the club for some months, may leave, having refused a new five-year deal which the club had hoped would quell interest from Arsenal and Everton.

The fans' jitters were not eased by a farcical sequence of events on Saturday which gave rise to rumours of Ireland's exit, too. Danny Mills, back from his latest loan spell, at Derby, declared live on Five before coverage of City's friendly against Milan that the Irishman had failed to show up and appeared to be leaving the club, but he was not furnished with some farcical pre-match events.

Hughes, it seems, had told those players not selected for his squad, named on Friday, to expect a text message on Saturday if they had been stood down from substitutes' duties. Ireland, selected in Hughes' first XI, misunderstood, expected a text message and did not turn up when it did not arrive. He was then surprised to find Mark Bowen, Hughes' deputy, on the phone asking why he had not shown.

Corluka's indecision about his future has hardly helped City, either. His Spurs medical had been completed when Hughes told Cook he intended one last attempt to talk him around. On telephoning the Croatian defender in London at the weekend, he discovered that he had a hankering to remain in Manchester despite the greater sum on offer.

Both players are key to City's attempts to progress and the form Valeri Bojinov has shown pre-season also showed why Hughes feels he has gained a free striker. He remains intent on bidding for Blackburn's Roque Santa Cruz, too, though Rovers' unwillingness to sell was underlined by Paul Ince's assertion yesterday that no more players would be leaving Ewood.

Hughes' unhappiness at the way City have been cast as a troubled club before the season has even started contributed in part to his arrival over an hour late for Saturday's post-match press conference and Mills was certainly put in his place before that. But Thaksin's notion that his football club will become a challenger to their Old Trafford neighbours seemed a distant prospect last night.

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/thaksins-fast-exit-compounds-citys-onpitch-troubles-891361.html

Thailand to seek Thaksin extradition from UK

2008-08-16T03:27:00.000-07:00

Wednesday August 13 2008
Thailand is preparing to seek the extradition of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who returned to exile earlier this week.

Sirisak Tiyapan, the head of the international affairs department of the Thai attorney general's office, said today he was ``currently studying the legal details of the case (for extradition).''

The Supreme Court issued arrest warrants on Monday for Manchester City owner Thaksin and his wife Pojaman after they failed to attend a scheduled hearing on a corruption case pending against them.

Thaksin said he decided to live in England because he could not expect a fair trial in Thailand, where he was prime minister from 2001-2006.

Source: http://www.independent.ie/breaking-news/world-news/asia/thailand-to-seek-thaksin-extradition-from-uk-1454192.html

Thaksin Shinawatra seeks refuge in Britain

2008-08-16T03:22:00.000-07:00

BANGKOK: The former prime minister of Thailand, Thaksin Shinawatra, skipped a court appearance Monday and announced that he was seeking refuge in London, leaving behind $2 billion in assets frozen by the generals who deposed him two years ago.

The Thai Supreme Court acted quickly after Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman, failed to show up for a hearing, ordering bail money seized and issuing warrants for their arrest. The forfeited bail of nearly $400,000 was in addition to the 68.5 billion baht, or $2 billion, already frozen by the government, money that the family unsuccessfully sought access to in recent weeks.

The absence of Thaksin's outsized presence and personality will probably embolden his critics in Thailand, but it is far from a guarantee that the internecine political battles that have bedeviled this country since his ouster in 2006 will cease. Millions of supporters have been irritated by what they view as Thaksin's political persecution.

In a bitter, handwritten note read by newscasters on television, Thaksin said that he rode in bulletproof cars in Thailand, constantly fearing for his life, and that he had lost faith in the judiciary to hear fairly the many cases brought against him by a military-appointed panel after the military coup. His wife was recently sentenced to three years in prison for tax evasion and the couple faces other cases for corruption and financial misdeeds.

"This is what I get for serving the country, the monarchy and the people with hard work and dedication for six years as prime minister," Thaksin wrote.

Khamnuan Chalopatham, one of Thaksin's lawyers, confirmed the authenticity of the note.

Thaksin and his wife, who had been attending the Olympic Games in Beijing, flew directly to London instead of returning to Bangkok for a scheduled court appearance Monday, Thai media reported.

"I am not perfect, but I insist that I am not as bad as what they accuse me of," Thaksin wrote in his letter.

"I must apologize again for deciding to come to live in England," Thaksin added. "If I am fortunate enough, I will return and die on Thai soil, just like other Thais."

Thaksin's three children left Bangkok for London on Saturday accompanied by a family secretary and 14 checked bags weighing a total of 360 kilograms, or almost 800 pounds, according to the Manager newspaper here.

Legal analysts said Monday that Thaksin would be shielded in Britain by extradition laws that favor defendants. The cases of two executives who fled Thailand for Britain during the 1997 financial crisis and who are wanted for alleged malfeasance have dragged on without resolution. But Thaksin's high profile presents a dilemma for the British government over how much cooperation to give the Thai authorities. Officials here suggested Monday that they had no choice but to begin extradition proceedings.

The main Thai stock market index closed 1.77 percent higher Monday on the apparent hope that Thaksin's exile would ease tensions in the country.

But Sondhi Limthongkul, one of the leaders of a protest movement that has staged daily demonstrations for several months, said that he would not be satisfied until the government, which came to power on the support of Thaksin's large rural support base, steps down. "Nothing changes," he said. "We will continue our protests."

Thaksin's passionate detractors are an influential minority in Thailand, mainly Thais from the urban middle class and the elite.

Thaksin had sweet words for his new home: England, he wrote in his note, was a country "that holds to democracy above all else."

Thaksin has a controlling stake in the Manchester City soccer team, which he bought last year for £21.6 million, or $41.4 million.

In Thailand, Thaksin said he had been a victim of a "political assassination" by officials with what he described as dictatorial powers.

"My family and I were continually treated unfairly without justice or truth," he said.

It was unclear what effect Thaksin's departure would have on the government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, who has been accused by critics of being Thaksin's puppet.

Many of the ministers and members of Parliament in the governing coalition are former allies or members of Thaksin's disbanded Thai Rak Thai party. Samak made no public statements Monday.

Surapong Suebwonglee, the finance minister and for years a close associate of Thaksin's, said the governing party, the People Power Party, would be independent. "Thaksin's presence or absence doesn't have any sway on its direction," Surapong said.

Janesara Fugal contributed reporting from Bangkok.

Source: http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/11/asia/thai.php

Thaksin to miss cup clash as he fights threat of extradition

2008-08-16T03:15:00.000-07:00

Manchester City's owner is accused of contravening Thai rules over purchases of state land while in office. Photograph: Jon Super/AP

Thaksin Shinawatra has indicated he will stay away from Manchester City's Uefa Cup qualifying tie against the Danish side FC Midtjylland tonight as he contemplates the first stages of a legal battle to avoid extradition back to Thailand.

Five days after jumping bail and fleeing to London rather than risk being sent to prison on corruption charges, Thaksin is aware his presence at the City of Manchester stadium could be unwelcome for Mark Hughes in what the manager, with a hefty amount of understatement, described yesterday as a "difficult week".

Hughes spoke of supporters being "upset and bewildered" because of the flood of negative publicity, although he reiterated that he would not resign despite his own problems adapting to the new regime. City, he insisted, were "going in the right direction" and, to back up his point, he revealed that Thaksin was still wealthy enough for transfer money to be available. "I've been reassured," he said. "People may have been concerned that I wouldn't have the funds to bring in players but that's not the case. We are actively pursuing players as we speak."

It is clear, however, that City are not in the financial position that Hughes assumed when he left Blackburn Rovers to take the job 10 weeks ago. Thaksin is unable to free the £800m worth of assets that are frozen in Thailand and Hughes had to intervene to prevent Vedran Corluka being sold to Tottenham Hotspur earlier this week, as well as having to investigate whether Stephen Ireland had also been put up for sale.

"It has been a difficult week in many respects but it has happened very early in my tenure and from this point onwards we can move on and work much better," said Hughes. "There have been misunderstandings but it's also true to say that in any organisation, if you make big changes, on occasions messages will be misinterpreted and mistakes will be made."

The former Wales manager, whose problems have been exacerbated by the news that Darius Vassell will miss 10 weeks with a knee injury, described himself as "stimulated" by the new challenges but there was also a telling admission that he was still waiting for his first face-to-face meeting with Thaksin. He did confirm, however, that he had been promised nobody would be sold against his wishes.

"I had a meeting with the players to make the group aware that I'm in charge and will make the decisions that affect the players," he added. "If players leave or if they go, that decision will be mine and mine solely. That's where we are and I think everybody understands now that that is the situation. I think we will be better for it and we can now move forward."

The truth, however, is that City will face an uncertain future for as long as Thaksin is living in exile, with Thailand already making preparations to try to extradite him. A team of government lawyers has been assembled to examine his case, according to the state prosecutor.

Meanwhile the Supreme Court in Thailand is expected to pass judgment on a land deal involving Thaksin on September 16. A conviction in his absence could affect his ownership of Manchester City under the FA's "fit and proper person" rule. However, he is accused of contravening Thai rules over purchases of state land while in office, an offence that does not exist under British law.

"We can't really go into the details of the owner's position because, if we are truthful, we don't know which way it is going to go," said Hughes. "But I was aware of this situation before I came here."

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/aug/14/uefa.manchestercity

Thailand readies extradition bid for ex-PM

2008-08-16T03:12:00.000-07:00

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- The Thai government on Wednesday began preparing to request the extradition of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who returned to exile in Britain after missing a court appearance earlier this week.

Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, front, and his wife Pojaman.

The Supreme Court issued arrest warrants Monday for Thaksin and his wife Pojaman after they failed to attend a scheduled hearing on a corruption case pending against them.

The couple, who traveled to China last week for the Olympics opening ceremony, were also ordered to forfeit a total of 13 million baht ($389,000) bail.

Thaksin said in a handwritten statement Monday that he had decided to return to Britain because he could not expect a fair trial in Thailand, where he was prime minister from 2001 to September 2006, when he was ousted in a military coup.

The government faces pressure to get him back, though many said his departure would help ease political tensions that began with protests early in 2006 seeking his removal from office because of alleged corruption and abuse of power.

"We are currently studying the legal details of the case (for extradition)," Sirisak Tiyapan, the head of the international affairs department of the Thai attorney general's office. "But there has been no formal request so far."

He added that his office has not yet received arrest warrants and other documents from the court which would be necessary to make an extradition request.

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Foreign Minister Tej Bunnag said the ministry is also waiting for formal documents from the court before canceling Thaksin's diplomatic passport, which he holds as a privilege of his former position.

"This is our priority. We will proceed as soon as possible," Tej told reporters.

Thaksin's diplomatic passport was revoked after the coup, but returned to him earlier this year after the election of a new government led by political allies.

Extradition is generally a complicated legal procedure, and many Western countries are reluctant to agree to it in cases with political overtones, or if they fear the suspect may be persecuted.

Thaksin's exact status in Britain has not been made public. A spokeswoman for the British home affairs office earlier said it would not comment on individual immigration cases. Speaking on condition of anonymity in keeping with government policy, she said a criminal indictment in another country "wouldn't necessarily affect someone's immigration status."

Thaksin, 59, faces a slew of court cases and investigations into alleged corruption and abuse of power during his five years in office. In his Monday statement, he insisted he was innocent of all the accusations.

He returned to Thailand less than six months ago after an extended period of exile following the 2006 military coup, much of it spent at his London residence and traveling around Europe and Asia making business deals, most notably the purchase of Britain's Manchester City football club.

On July 31, the criminal court convicted his wife of evading millions of dollars in taxes and sentenced her to three years in prison. She was released on bail.

Four cases against Thaksin have gone to court, while others are still under investigation.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/08/13/thailand.thaksin.extradition.ap/index.html

Warrant issued as ex-Thai leader Thaksin flees to UK

2008-08-16T02:49:00.000-07:00

BANGKOK, Thailand (CNN) -- Thailand's Supreme Court issued arrest warrants Monday for deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife after they skipped a court appearance and fled to the United Kingdom, court officials said.

Pojaman Shinawatra and her husband Thaksin leave Bangkok Criminal Court on July 31 in Bangkok.

The couple was to appear in court Monday in a corruption case.

Instead, Thaksin released a three-page handwritten statement saying he opted to go to England because he did not expect fair treatment in Thai courts, the Thai News Agency said.

Thaksin could not immediately be reached for comment.

Thaksin and his wife, Pojaman Shinawatra, were scheduled to testify in a Supreme Court case about the unlawful purchase of real estate. The real-estate scandal case is one of several corruption claims that Thaksin and his family face in court.

Their lawyer had said the pair would "definitely appear" in court Monday to fight the corruption charges, the News Agency (TNA) said. Watch more about the ex-Thai leader's decision to flee »

But the couple did not return to Bangkok on Sunday night from a trip to the opening ceremonies of the Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

In the real-estate case, Pojaman is accused of using her husband's political influence to buy undeveloped land from a government agency for about a third of its estimated value.

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Deposed Thai PM's wife guilty of tax evasion

The former prime minister has consistently denied that he or his family was involved in any wrongdoing.

Last month, Pojaman was found guilty of evading millions of dollars in taxes and sentenced to three years in prison, state media reported.

She was released pending appeal on bail of five million baht ($149,000).

Pojaman, her step-brother and her secretary were convicted on charges alleging that they intentionally avoided paying taxes worth 546 million baht ($16.4 million) in a 1997 transfer of shares in the family's telecommunications business.

Thaksin, who served two terms as prime minister, was deposed in a bloodless military coup in September 2006.

The billionaire leader -- a telecommunications tycoon who owns the Manchester City Football Club of the English Premier League -- is accused of abusing the country's system of checks and balances and bending government policy to benefit his family business.

He lived abroad until his allies, the People Power Party, won nearly half the seats in the lower house in December's parliamentary elections.

In his statement, Thaksin said he returned home only to find the political atmosphere did not permit him to prove his innocence because of "intervention in the judicial system."

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/08/11/thai.leader/index.html

More charges filed against deposed Thai PM

2008-08-16T02:46:00.000-07:00

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Thai prosecutors filed new corruption charges against ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra Friday for alleged abuse of authority to benefit his family business.

The Attorney General's Office filed the charges in the Supreme Court over changes made in 2003 to a payments system for state-owned enterprises that benefited Thaksin's family-owned mobile phone company, Deputy Attorney General Waiyawut Toetrakun said.

The filing came as a series of legal cases against the former prime minister, toppled in a 2006 military coup, appeared to be gaining momentum, with a ruling on one expected at the end of the month.

The charges Friday said Thaksin ordered a Cabinet resolution in 2003 to change concession fees paid by mobile phone companies to state telecommunications enterprises.

The fees were converted into a simple tax, which was lower.

Advanced Info Service, a subsidiary of Shin Corp., a telecom conglomerate owned by Thaksin's family until early 2006, benefited the most because as the biggest mobile operator it had been paying the largest concession fees.

"The result of the investigation found that the suspect has abused (his) authority" to benefit his family's company, the charges said. The changes caused financial losses to two state-owned telecommunications enterprises, they said.

The case is the eighth against Thaksin and members of his family that has gone to court out of a total of 24. The others are still with police or the attorney general's office.

Among other cases, the Thai Supreme Court began to hear testimonies Tuesday from witnesses in the trial of Thaksin and his wife on charges related to her purchase of Bangkok real estate when he was prime minister. The court is to rule July 31 on separate charges of tax evasion against his wife.

Several high-profile court rulings this week have targeted top officials in the five-month-old government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, which is filled with Thaksin allies.

On Thursday, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama resigned after being accused of jeopardizing the country's claims to land near an ancient Cambodian temple.

The Thai Constitutional Court had ruled Tuesday that Noppadon acted unconstitutionally when he endorsed Cambodia's application to have the Preah Vihear temple registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site without first consulting Parliament on the matter. Critics fear the endorsement undermines Thailand's claim to land near the temple, which is on the Thai-Cambodian border.

On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court disqualified Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsup from office for violating asset disclosure rules.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court banned a former parliamentary speaker from politics for five years for electoral fraud. The verdict could lead to the eventual dissolution of Samak's People's Power Party if the Constitutional Court decides that Yongyuth Tiyapairat committed the fraud to benefit his party.

A number of senior Thaksin loyalists serve in Samak's government. Before his appointment as foreign minister, Noppadon was Thaksin's top lawyer and spokesman while the former prime minister was in exile after his ouster.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/07/11/thailand.shinawatra.ap/index.html

Deposed Thai PM's wife guilty of tax evasion

2008-08-16T02:44:00.000-07:00

(CNN) -- The wife of deposed Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra was found guilty Thursday of evading millions of dollars in taxes and sentenced to three years in prison, state media reported.

Pojaman Shinawatra, as seen last year, was found guilty of tax evasion on Thursday.

After the ruling, the judge released Pojaman Shinawatra on five million baht ($149,000) bail, pending an appeal.

The 51-year-old former first lady and her husband did not speak to reporters as she left the Criminal Court in Bangkok, the Thai News Agency said. They were accompanied by their three children.

More than 300 police officers were deployed around the courthouse to prevent any outbreak from Thaksin supporters.

The ruling is likely to be a major blow for Thaksin, the former prime minister, who has consistently denied that he or his family was involved in any wrongdoing.

Several other corruption claims against Thaksin and his family are winding their way through the legal system.

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More charges filed against Thaksin

The step-brother was sentenced to three years in prison. The secretary was sentenced to two.

All three denied the charges.

Thaksin, who served two terms as prime minister, was deposed in a bloodless military coup.

The billionaire leader is accused of abusing the country's system of checks and balances and bending government policy to benefit his family business.

He and his wife are part of another corruption trial in which Pojaman is accused of using her husband's political influence to purchase undeveloped land from a government agency for about a third of its estimated value.

Thaksin also faces separate charges of concealing assets.

Thaksin, a telecommunications tycoon, owns the Manchester City Football Club of the English Premier League. His party won two landslide victories before he was deposed in a coup in September 2006.

He lived abroad until his allies won nearly half the seats in the lower house in December's parliamentary elections.

Source: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/07/31/thailand.thaksin.wife/index.html

Criminal Wanted: Pojamarn Shinawatra

2008-08-16T02:28:00.000-07:00

A Thai judge has issued an arrest warrant for the country's former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.

A warrant has also been issued for the billionaire's wife in connection with a corruption case against the couple.

Thaksin was ousted from power by the Thai military last year after large demonstrations calling for him to resign because of alleged corruption and abuse and power.

He has spent the intervening time living in England, where he recently bought Manchester City Football Club.

The judge who issued the arrest warrants for Thaksin and his wife says he "has reason to believe that they are evading prosecution".

Criminal Wanted: Thaksin Shinawatra

2008-08-16T02:26:00.000-07:00

A Thai judge has issued an arrest warrant for the country's former Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra.

A warrant has also been issued for the billionaire's wife in connection with a corruption case against the couple.

Thaksin was ousted from power by the Thai military last year after large demonstrations calling for him to resign because of alleged corruption and abuse and power.

He has spent the intervening time living in England, where he recently bought Manchester City Football Club.

The judge who issued the arrest warrants for Thaksin and his wife says he "has reason to believe that they are evading prosecution".