Lottery case to go to public prosecutors

Today's General News - Wednesday December 12, 2007

Lottery case to go to public prosecutors

Wattana accused of receiving bribes

AMPA SANTIMATANEDOL

The Assets Scrutiny Committee (ASC) yesterday agreed to forward the two and three-digit lottery case to public prosecutors for the indictment of 30 members of the Thaksin Shinawatra cabinet and 17 members of the board of the Government Lottery Office (GLO).

Meanwhile, a number of business operators have implicated Wattana Muangsuk, former social development and human security minister, in alleged demands for bribes relating to the 8.9 billion baht Baan Ua-arthorn low-cost housing project.

The ASC yesterday also ordered an additional freeze of more than 15 million baht on the assets of Bannapot Damapong, the stepbrother of Mr Thaksin's wife, Potjaman.

Udom Fuangfung, chairman of the sub-committee looking into the digit lottery irregularities, said the ASC has ordered his sub-committee to forward the case to the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) within 14 days.

A public prosecutor from the OAG will then indict all the 47 suspects at the Supreme Court's political crimes division.

The ASC has not only accused the 47 suspects of initiating and approving the two- and three-digit lottery scheme without authorisation, but also spending revenue from the lottery sale without authorisation and violating three monetary laws by unlawfully acquiring tax exemptions for the lottery scheme.

Of the 47 suspects to be indicted for alleged irregularities in the 2003 launch of two- and three-digit lottery, 30 are members of the Thaksin cabinet who attended the July 8, 2003 cabinet meeting, where a regulation legalising the lottery scheme was passed. They will be accused of violating the criminal code.

The two cabinet members who did not attend the July 8 meeting, former education minister Pongpol Adireksarn and former deputy interior minister Pramual Rujanaseri, who is now leader of the Prachamati party which is contesting the upcoming election, will be excluded from the indictment, said Mr Udom.

According to Mr Udom, 17 members of the board of the Government Lottery Office (GLO) who were involved in the 2003 launch of the lottery scheme, will face both criminal and civil charges for causing 37 billion baht worth of financial damage to the state. The ASC has recommended that the 47 suspects be forced to pay back the 37 billion baht to the state.

On the 8.9-billion-baht Baan Ua-arthorn low-cost housing project, ASC secretary Kaewsan Atipho said a major rice trader in Phichit province has accused Mr Wattana of demanding kickbacks related to the Baan Ua-arthorn project.

Mr Kaewsan said the ASC's sub-panel on the project has traced the money to a money laundering scam involving 8.5 billion baht of the project's cash.

The sub-panel will ask the Anti-Money Laundering Office to look into the alleged scam.

In Mr Bannapot's case, Sak Korsaengruang, the ASC spokesman, said the assets frozen yesterday included the 57 million shares Mr Bannapot held in Thanachart Capital Plc and their future dividend, the 15.4 million baht dividend already paid to Mr Bannapot from holding the shares, a savings account at Thanachart Bank, 28.9 million shares and their future dividend in Kasikorn Bank, and 15.9 million shares and their future dividend in SC Asset Corp Plc.

Bangkok Post