Somkid and Sondhi's Buddy Viroj May Be Charged For Bank Loan Scams

BANK-LOAN SCAM

The Nation

Bank executives may be among charged

Twenty to face Assets Examination Committee over funds that are said to have found their way into powerful pockets

Two former Krung Thai Bank executives will be among more than 20 people likely to be charged by the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) in a corruption case involving Bt9.9-billion bank loans, some of which were allegedly diverted to benefit former politicians in power, an AEC source said yesterday.

The source said they include former bank president Viroj Nualkhair and former bank chairman Suchai Jaovisidha.

Meanwhile, AEC chairman Nam Yimyaem said the AEC will meet to consider the case on Tuesday, when it is expected to set up a subcommittee to examine the facts before charging any wrongdoers.

On Tuesday, the AEC will also discuss whether to set up a separate subcommittee to investigate alleged irregularities involving the previous government's two- and three-digit lotteries, according to Nam.

The fact-finding team looking into the matter has suggested further probe as many people were found to have been involved, he said.

Last October, the Bank of Thailand found that Golden Technology Industrial Park Ltd, linked to Krisda Mahanakorn, had issued two cheques worth more than Bt130 million combined and made payable to two people associated with "a big political party".

Golden Technology is one of the non-performing borrowers of the state-run Krung Thai Bank (KTB). The company is partly blamed for the high level of KTB's non-performing-loans worth around Bt40 billion during the tenure of Viroj.

Golden Technology sought Bt9.9 billion from Krung Thai Bank by using a 4,000-rai plot of land close to the Suvarnabhumi area as collateral, saying it needed the money to refinance debts of Bt8 billion with Bangkok Bank, and the other Bt1.9 billion to acquire land.

However, the Bank of Thailand later found the company had used only Bt4.45 billion to refinance the debt with Bangkok Bank - the other Bt3.5 billion had been misused.

The scandal broke about two years ago, when banking authorities discovered that KTB had misallocated loans worth a combined Bt40 billion. It was forced to set aside loan-loss reserves to cover the high level of non-performing loans.

Viroj was later forced out as KTB president.


Sondhi's barber may be going to jail

Surakiart Sathirathai: Another Thaksin Crony Rehabilitating Himself By Hypocritically Pimping Sufficiency Theory

POLITICS / EX-FOREIGN MINISTER HEADS FOR THE US

Bangkok Post

Surakiart to lecture on 'sufficiency'

SURASAK TUMCHAROEN

Former foreign minister Surakiart Sathirathai is leaving for the United States to lecture at Harvard University on His Majesty the King's sufficiency economy. Mr Surakiart said he would lecture in his capacity as visiting scholar at Harvard Law School, of which he is a graduate, and fellow of the same university's John F Kennedy School of Government.

His trip follows closely in the wake of the resignation of former Thaksin deputy prime minister and finance minister Somkid Jatusripitak from a short-lived stint as the government's communicator on its economic policies and the sufficiency economy principle.

He said he would also speak about other economic development alternatives suitable not only for Thailand but other developing countries too.

He said he had been speaking about the sufficiency economy _ explaining its thrust to visiting ministers, business people, and resident ambassadors.

"I once held a workshop among ministerial-level representatives of more than 30 countries attending an Unctad conference in 2003 to discuss the principles of the sufficiency economy,'' he recalled.

In the following year, his foreign guests, mostly at ministerial level, were granted an audience with His Majesty who kindly chaired a debate on the sufficiency economy, he added.

In the US, Mr Surakiart said he would be a lecturer on economic development alternatives for a US-based study group set up by Nobel laureate Joseph Steigliz.

He said he considered the task of communicating the sufficiency economy abroad a big challenge.

Mr Surakiart, whose son, Santitarn, is currently taking a master's degree in economics at Harvard, said he would be touring Harvard from early next month until the end of theyear, and each time is due to spend about six weeks there.

Mr Surakiart, who spent most of last year fruitlessly campaigning for the top job at the United Nations, has been drawn into explaining to his foreign contacts the coup on Sept 19 that ousted his former boss, Thaksin Shinawatra.

''Dozens of foreign ministers and ambassadors from Europe, Africa and the Middle East telephoned me almost every day to make private inquiries,'' he said.

''I persuaded some foreign investors who had been so appalled by the coup and so close to leaving Thailand to change their mind and stay,'' he added.

Why not send Newin to the US to lecture about agricultural policy?

Why not send Sudarat to the US to lecture about health policy?

Why not send Chavalit, Barnharn, Sanoh and Sanan to the US to lecture about democratic development?

Harvard University should be ashamed. I can't believe it is allowing this phony to lecture on any topic, let alone sufficiency theory.

Why are Thai Rak Thai politicians and Thaksin cronies the only people qualified to lecture the world on sufficiency theory?

What is wrong with sending those folks who have actually managed the royal projects for decades to lecture instead of multimillionaire Thai politicians who have never lived a day of sufficiency theory in their lives?

Possibly Good News on Fighting Corruption in Thailand?

GRAFT PROBE

Top men may be charged in BMA fire truck case

AMPA SANTIMATANEEDOL

The Assets Scrutiny Committee (ASC) will recommend prosecution of a former Bangkok governor, two former cabinet ministers, a ministerial aide and a retired police major-general for alleged irregularities in the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's import of fire trucks and boats worth 6.7 billion baht. According to a senior source in the ASC, the sub-committee investigating the purchase deal will report its findings, which allegedly hold five senior people responsible for these irregularities, to the ASC on Monday.

With all the bad news lately, I have to admit that this is extremely good news.

I give the government and the Bangkok Post a hard time. But then they do something right, like go after the big fish, then I am happy and can't complain. Wow, see how that works? When things go right, I don't bitch. Ah, what a moment.

Samak is a big fish. His nefarious activities go way back. Plus, the good thing about this prosecution, if it ever sees the light of a court room, is that it goes after many parties. The Dems, the police, and the TRT ministers all get hit.

Nobody may go to jail in the end, but at least it is in the public domain for once and it is in the record.

I hope and pray that the ASC has more to show us in the future.

Somkid Jatusripitak: Thaksin's Number One Crony and Chief Backer of Thaksinomics Now Sells Sufficiency Theory for the Junta

Somkid appointed as sufficiency economy envoy/The Nation

Somkid Story at Bangkok Post

Newly-appointed economic envoy Somkid Jatusripitak vowed Thursday to explain sufficiency economy principle to foreign countries.

Somkid, a former finance minister and deputy prime minister for the Thaksin government was Thursday appointed chairman of a foreign economic relations committee, Deputy PM's Secretary-General Weerachai Weeramethikul announced.

Weerachai said Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont signed an order to appoint the foreign economic cooperation and relations committee.

Weerachai said the committee would be in charge of explaining to foreign governments, media and education institutions about Thailand's key economic policies.

Eight other members of the committee are Weerachai, the director-general of the Public Relations Department, the director-general of the Foreign Trade Department, the secretary-general of the Board of Investment, the director of the Fiscal Policy Office, the governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the director-general of the International Economic Affairs and the secretary-general of the International Economic Affairs.

The order also appointed a team of advisors for the committee. The team members are the PM's secretary-general, Sompol Kiatpaibool, former permanent secretary for Commerce, and the president of the Thai Industry Federation, the chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the president of the Thai Bankers Association.

Somkid said after his appointment that he would work to supplement the works of government agencies to get foreign countries understand the principle of sufficiency economy.

Somkid said he still had connections with foreign countries so he would use the connections for his works. He would have to make some foreign visits.

Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont said Somkid's appointment had nothing to do with politics.

He said Somkid had offered to help explain the idea of sufficiency economy to foreign countries so he appointed him as the economic envoy.

This story sums up the absurdity of Thai politics in many ways. Somkid was Thaksin's right hand man for many years and the chief advocate and policy maker for Thaksinomics. Now he has been hired by the Surayud Government to sell Juntanomics/Sufficieny Theory to the world.

Am I the only one to see the ridiculousness of this?

1. Was Somkid successful selling Thaksinonics to the world? Somkid is considered a marketing genius, yet in many ways he was a total failure in selling Thaksinocracy and Thaksinomics. Failure #1 Thaksin was overthrown in a coup and had millions of Thais who despised him. I would say that was a marketing failure. Failure #2 Outside of Thailand, Thaksinomics was derided and ridiculed by the international press. Now Somkid is going to do the same for the juntacracy and juntanomics?

2. Why would the junta hire somebody who was responsible for marketing Thaksinocracy and Thaksinomics to the Thai public? I think that is treasonous. Like one of the poster said, Thaksin would have been a nobody without Somkid. Seriously, isn't Somkid responsible for creating the Thaksin Frankenstein monster? And how can the junta trust somebody who would stab their patron in the back? I guess there is no honor amongst thieves.

Imagine Hillary Clinton hiring Karl Rove to attack and discredit George W. Bush policies that Karl Rove was responsible for formulating, then becoming the chief guru for selling Clintonomics.

Also, I have said it a million times already. There is nothing wrong with the ideas and concepts that King Bumibol proposes as part of Sufficiency Theory. I have yet to see any foreigner attack King Bumibol's ideas. Foreigners are only attacking the anti-foreigner, anti-liberal economic policies of the military government. To stop the confusion, the Surayud Government should call its economic policies "Juntanomics" instead Sufficiency Theory.

Thailand's Top Cop Gets the Boot

Thailand's police chief dismissed

Thai prime minister sacks national police chief

Police chief ousted for incompetence

Pol Gen Seripisut replaces Kowit as police super boss

Good Old Boys Network: Corruption and Collusion at Bangkok Airport

Politicians and business may have colluded on airport


Investigators believe two contractorsof Airports of Thailand Plc colluded with 22 politicians and officials accused of involvement in the "overpriced" procurement of a baggage-handling system for Suvarnabhumi airport. The system included the 26 CTX bomb-scanning machines.

A source in the inquiry team said on Thursday that a sub-panel under the Assets Scrutiny Committee, chaired by Amnuay Tantara, will ask the ASC on Monday to file a complaint against ITO Joint Venture and Quatrotec as well as six of their representatives of criminal offences for their alleged collusion.

Its decision was based on the testimony of witnesses that indicated the two companies had colluded with the 22 accused people to force AoT to accept the overpriced quotations, the source said.

The ASC has already filed a complaint against deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, ex-transport minister Suriya Juengrungruangkit and despite their lack of experience, and for accepting their overpriced
quotations.

According to the findings revealed partly by the ASC, the AoT board in 2003 hired ITO Joint Venture to design a baggage-handling system for Suvarnabhumi and contracted Quatrotec, which was established only
shortly before the deal, to verify the design.

The job contracted to Quatrotec was also found to have overlapped with that of another AoT contractor.

It took Quatrotec only one day to approve ITO's multi-billion-baht design.

ITO was also allowed to quote 3.99 billion baht for providing and installing the baggage-handling system. But the firm instead paid its sub-contractor 3.09 billion baht to do the job.

Its quotation for the procurement of the CTX machines was also found to be higher than their real value by 665 million baht. When the CTX deal with ITO was scrapped, AoT purchased the machines directly from GE
InVision at an aggregate "overpriced" amount of US$35 million (about 1.2 billion baht) with ITO acting as buyer of the machines.

The source said six representatives of the firms who would face criminal charges included Tawatchai Suthiprapa of ITO, and Woravit Wisutchai of Quatrotec. The two represented the companies in signing
the deals with AoT and in receiving payments. There is one foreigner in the group.

If the ASC agrees with the inquiry team's proposal, the companies and the six people will be charged with criminal offences under Articles 3 and 11 of the Act Governing Wrongdoings of Officials of State Agencies,
and Article 157 of the Criminal Code.

ASC chairman Nam Yimyaem yesterday refused to consider a request by the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry for advice on whether it could extend a rubber sapling deal with Charoen Pokphand Seeds.

Mr Nam said the ASC had nothing to do with the matter and the ministry should make its own decision whether to pursue that contract.

CP Seeds won the bidding to provide 90 million rubber saplings for the government's rubber farm expansion programme, which was found to be plagued by irregularities.

Agriculture Minister Thira Sutabutra said the ministry may have to extend the deadline for CP Seeds to deliver the remaining saplings. CP Seeds declined to comment.

I want to give a shout out to The Bangkok Post for having the courage to print the names of Thai contractors and companies that are knee deep in corruption.

Now, who was responsible for building the runways and taxiways? Who was responsible for floors and windows? Who was responsible for the King Power contract? Who was responsible for opening the airport when it wasn't safe? How come the Japanese Bank for International Cooperation, the entity responsible for financing and auditing, is allowed to get away with not doing its oversight duties?

The Nation gripes about corruption all the time, but never names names. When will it start to take after the Bangkok Post's professionalism?

Good Old Boys Network: Corruption and Collusion in the Thai bureaucracy

EDITORIAL


Bureaucrats must be made to answer

The Nation



Govt must break the conspiracy of silence by officials if the AEC is to succeed in its corruption probe



Members of the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) assigned to
investigate alleged corruption by former Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra and some of his Cabinet ministers have been complaining for
a while that their work is being held up because government officials
are not cooperating. In order to do its job properly, the AEC needs to
get the heads of agencies where cases of bribery, graft or embezzlement
supposedly took place to file formal complaints against wrongdoers and
supply AEC investigators with relevant evidence to back up those
charges.


The Nation is right. Why are these bureaucrats not cooperating? Why won't The Nation give us the names of these people who are not cooperating? Why are these bureaucrats allowed to steal from the state and protect Thaksin?

Why isn't the junta throwing them in jail? If they are not cooperating or opening up the books, then they are obstructing justice. Is their own selfishness more important than the citizens and tax payers of Thailand?

2 billion Baht missing in AOT/King Power Shenanigans

AOT blamed

Airports of Thailand has caused some Bt2 billion in damage to the country from granting the duty-free concession at Suvarnabhumi Airport to the King Power International Group, a National Legislative Assembly panel said yesterday.

Pathompong Kesornsuk, chairman of the panel investigating the AOT-King Power contract, said that in its bid, King Power had proposed an additional Bt2-billion benefit to AOT if it won the duty-free concession, aside from the minimum benefit sharing of Bt1.43 billion in the first year.

Pathompong said the Bt2 billion never appeared after the concession was awarded. The subcommittee will summon Vuthipan Vichairat, the AOT director who chaired the panel that named King Power, in order to find out where the money is. - The Nation.

I hope Khun Pathompong keeps up the good work and exposes these bastards

More Airport Shark Jumping

Scoop journalist vindicated


Let's welcome Thaksin back at Suvarnabhumi

Airport-danger probe plea


Rescue plan for airport


Pipes bursting at Suvarnabhumi Airport

Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport plagued by cracked taxiways


Funny that there are so many stories about the airport, which is good, because the Thai media could cover up everything until there was a major disaster.

However, I think it is interesting that nobody has named names in any of these stories.

Who built the airport? Who is responsible for the problems? And why aren't they being held accountable?

Dr. Prasert gives out airport advice

Prasert seeks speedy Don Muang decision



There is an urgent need for the government to shift all domestic air
traffic to Don Muang, immediately fix all the construction flaws and
build two new runways at the troubled Suvarnabhumi Airport, says a
local aviation industry leader. Dr Prasert Prasarttong-Osoth, chief
executive of Bangkok Airways, said problems at Bangkok's new airport
were reaching a critical point.





Dr. Prasert is the guy who owns Bangkok Hospital group and Koh Samui Airport.


Bangkok Hospitals are the most expensive hospitals in Thailand and with horrible service.


He also had a airline and airport monopoly at Koh Samui for many years.


This guy should not be handing out advice to anybody. He is a crook.

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