The Supreme Court announced that its first hearing on the case was scheduled for September 16. The case was originally filed by the now-dissolved Assets Examination Committee (AEC), which was set up after a military coup ousted Thaksin in September 2006.
The case relates to a 4 billion baht (US $120 million) loan the Exim Bank made to the Burmese military regime in 2003. The loan agreement was made between Thaksin and former Burmese Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt. The funds were earmarked for improvements to Burma’s Internet system.
The loan approval drew criticism that Thaksin, who supervised the bank at the time, had conducted foreign policy for the benefit of his family-owned company, Shin Corporation, which the Shinawatra family sold to Singapore’s Temasek Holdings in January 2006. The AEC investigated a number of other officials and former ministers in Thaksin’s cabinet in relation to the case, but found evidence to suggest that Thaksin was directly responsible for ordering an increase in the loan from 3 billion to 4 billion baht.
The AEC claimed that the order represented a conflict of interest, since it required the Thai Ministry of Finance to pay around 100 million baht ($3 million) per year over the 12-year term of the loan.
Total interest on the loan, which was linked to Shin Corp’s investments in Burma’s IT infrastructure, was expected to reach 2 billion baht ($54 million) in 2006.
Former Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and senior officials at the East Asian Affairs Department opposed the increase in the size of the loan, saying it would lead to criticism from the international community.
The case is the second against Thaksin accepted by the court this week, after judges on Monday agreed to consider charges against the former prime minister and his aides concerning a lottery scandal.
The case relates to a 4 billion baht (US $120 million) loan the Exim Bank made to the Burmese military regime in 2003. The loan agreement was made between Thaksin and former Burmese Prime Minister Gen Khin Nyunt. The funds were earmarked for improvements to Burma’s Internet system.
The loan approval drew criticism that Thaksin, who supervised the bank at the time, had conducted foreign policy for the benefit of his family-owned company, Shin Corporation, which the Shinawatra family sold to Singapore’s Temasek Holdings in January 2006. The AEC investigated a number of other officials and former ministers in Thaksin’s cabinet in relation to the case, but found evidence to suggest that Thaksin was directly responsible for ordering an increase in the loan from 3 billion to 4 billion baht.
The AEC claimed that the order represented a conflict of interest, since it required the Thai Ministry of Finance to pay around 100 million baht ($3 million) per year over the 12-year term of the loan.
Total interest on the loan, which was linked to Shin Corp’s investments in Burma’s IT infrastructure, was expected to reach 2 billion baht ($54 million) in 2006.
Former Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai and senior officials at the East Asian Affairs Department opposed the increase in the size of the loan, saying it would lead to criticism from the international community.
The case is the second against Thaksin accepted by the court this week, after judges on Monday agreed to consider charges against the former prime minister and his aides concerning a lottery scandal.
US clamps down on firms linked to Myanmar
Any bank accounts or other financial assets found in the United States that belong to those named Tuesday must be frozen. Americans also are prohibited from doing business with them.
It marked the latest administration move to financially punish the repressive junta in Myanmar, also known as Burma, and its backers for a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
The United States last week blasted the Myanmar junta's oft-repeated promise to democratize as a "kind of mockery." The U.S. also renewed criticism of Myanmar for initially refusing international help after Cyclone Nargis in May, when several countries including the United States were sitting offshore with ships loaded with aid.
"The regime's refusal to protect and allow relief to reach the Burmese people as Cyclone Nargis devastated their country is but another example of the regime's heartless neglect of its people," said Adam Szubin, director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces the sanctions program.
Three mining companies and an export-import firm also were targeted Tuesday. Myanmar Ruby Enterprise Co. Ltd., Myanmar Imperial Jade Co., Myawaddy Bank, and Myawaddy Trading Ltd. also were covered by the department's order.
It marked the latest administration move to financially punish the repressive junta in Myanmar, also known as Burma, and its backers for a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters.
The United States last week blasted the Myanmar junta's oft-repeated promise to democratize as a "kind of mockery." The U.S. also renewed criticism of Myanmar for initially refusing international help after Cyclone Nargis in May, when several countries including the United States were sitting offshore with ships loaded with aid.
"The regime's refusal to protect and allow relief to reach the Burmese people as Cyclone Nargis devastated their country is but another example of the regime's heartless neglect of its people," said Adam Szubin, director of Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, which enforces the sanctions program.
Three mining companies and an export-import firm also were targeted Tuesday. Myanmar Ruby Enterprise Co. Ltd., Myanmar Imperial Jade Co., Myawaddy Bank, and Myawaddy Trading Ltd. also were covered by the department's order.
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