Thais won’t blow whistle on Thaksin’s Man City bid
THE authorities in Thailand will not block deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s bid to buy an English Premiership football club, despite his assets being frozen while a corruption investigation continues.
Manchester City yesterday recommended its shareholders accept a 81.6 million takeover offer by Mr Thaksin, much of whose wealth has been frozen inside Thailand.
Noppadol Patama, his lawyer in Thailand, said he had been “ecstatic” at the news from England.
With Mr Thaksin battling to preserve his political and business legacy after being overthrown in a military coup last September, there has been speculation the bid is an attempt to keep a high profile while he is in exile, splitting his time between London and travel around Asia.
“I thought he just wanted to remain in the headlines. We have seen examples of businessmen who lost a lot of money in trying to improve football teams; it’s not something that pays off immediately,” said Tawan Daengtaptip, a football reporter at Siam Sport magazine.
“And if you know Thaksin like Thai people do, you know he is not that stupid. But now that the deal is progressing, maybe there is something more to it than we think. Maybe he is looking for a place to park his money.”
Mr Thaksin became a telecoms billionaire before entering politics and serving as prime minister from 2001 to 2006.
In Thailand, fans’ reactions to his Manchester City bid were generally positive. “I think it’s great news,” said Vichai Charoenkit, a street food seller in Bangkok. “He can do to Man City what he did with the mobile phone business in Thailand. And talented kids from here may be able to go there to practise, improve their tactics or even join Premier League teams.”
Nattawut Saikua, of Mr Thaksin’s now dissolved Thai Rak Thai Party, said he believed the new deal was not political. “He is a renowned businessman. I am sure he saw a business opportunity in the club.” he said.
Government officials were chiefly concerned with how the deal would affect the freeze of his assets in Thailand and the corruption charges he faces.
Colonel Sansern Kaewkamnerd, of the military council that overthrew Mr Thaksin and helps run the country, said: “It’s proof that the anti-graft agencies have only frozen assets that were believed to have been acquired through corrupt means. He still has a lot of money and can move around, making big business deals like this. That’s his private matter. We will not interfere.”
In the past two weeks, an anti-corruption panel established by the military has ordered more than 900 million of Mr Thaksin’s wealth to be frozen on suspicion it was gained illicitly.
