AOT shares deal scrutinised

A portion of the Bt9 billion in loans approved by Krung Thai Bank for the Golden Technology Industrial Park was used to buy Airports of Thailand (AOT) stock by a business partner of the former prime minister's son, an Assets Examination Committee (AEC) source said yesterday.

The source said the AEC had found 21 cheques totalling Bt17.64 million written by How Come Entertainment officials to pay for 420,000 AOT shares.

Iyakhub Kritboonyalai, chief creative officer of How Come Entertainment, which is owned by Panthongtae Shinawatra, testified to the AEC that he bought 20,000 shares through a broker for Bt42 each and held them for only one month, because he was not a professional investor, the source said.

Iyakhub, a close friend of Panthongtae, said he bought the shares from Rachada Krisdathanont, chairman of the executive board of Krisda Mahanakorn.

The source said Iyakhub's statement was reliable and that the AEC would not summon Panthongtae, but rather 20 other How Come employees to testify.

Another AEC source said the committee was also trying to find out what happened to Bt300 million belonging to Ample Rich Investments when the company was closed.

The source, a high-ranking official, said that information remained the missing piece in the investigation into the tax-free sale of Shin Corp shares by Ample Rich to the children of former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Panthongtae and Pinthongta, as well as their mother's secretary, Kanchanapa Honghern, were on Ample Rich's board.

The source said Shin CEO Boonklee Plangsiri promised to send 15 documents to the AEC when he appeared before the committee last Friday.

AEC spokesman Sak Korsaengreung urged the government to amend the Anti-Corruption Act so that injured government agencies were not required to file complaints against alleged wrongdoers before action could be taken.

He urged the government to move quickly, saying the AEC had limited time to work.

Budsarakham Sinlapalavan

The Nation
Thu, February 1, 2007