Thaksin faces new corruption charge
A Thai court today issued a second arrest warrant for Thaksin Shinawatra, the deposed Thai prime minister, over alleged share sale violations.
The earlier warrant had been issued over an alleged conflict of interest in the sale of property in Bangkok.
Mr Thaksin has been living abroad since a bloodless military coup almost a year ago - he was out of the country at the time. The removal followed mass demonstrations demanding his resignation over alleged corruption and abuse of power. Mr Thaksin has been living in the UK and now owns the Manchester City football club.
Sunai Manomaiudom, the director general of Thailand’s department of special investigation - its equivalent of the FBI - said his agency had sought the warrant.
The new criminal warrants for Mr Thaksin and his wife, Pojamarn, involve charges of violating regulations requiring disclosure of corporate information to the stock exchange.
The case stems from accusations that Mr Thaksin and his wife held shares in overseas funds that were hidden from financial regulators in Thailand and the US.
Pichit Chuenban, a lawyer for Mr Thaksin’s family, said he would tell his client of the court action and advise him not to return to fight the case for now “because the situation in the country is not normal”.
“We think he should return only after we have an elected government,” Mr Pichit told the Associated Press. Thailand is ostensibly being run by an interim civilian government but a military council intensely hostile to Mr Thaksin has the ultimate say.
Mr Thaksin, a billionaire in telecommunications before entering politics, was elected as prime minister in 2001.
The couple have been placed on an immigration blacklist so they can be immediately arrested if they try to enter Thailand. But Mr Thaksin has said he will not return to the kingdom due to fears for his safety under the military-backed government.
The couple have denied all the charges against them.
