Friday, February 26, 2010
Thai court seizes 1.4 billion dollars from Thaksin
9:19 PM | 
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BANGKOK: Thailand's top court Friday stripped Thaksin Shinawatra of more than half his 2.3-billion-dollar fortune after ruling that the fugitive former premier had abused his power for personal gain.
The verdict was an apparent compromise aimed at avoiding violence by the tycoon's supporters, but it left many of them in tears and a pro-Thaksin protest movement said it would push ahead with mass rallies in March.
After reading out a seven-hour verdict, judges said the Supreme Court would seize 46 billion baht (1.4 billion dollars) of the assets from the sale of Thaksin's telecoms firm, which were frozen after the 2006 coup that ousted him.
But they said the twice-elected former leader could hold on to the wealth he had already accumulated before taking office in 2001.
"The majority of the judges rule that the wealth of Thaksin to be confiscated, from share dividends and part of the share sales is altogether 46.37 billion baht," the judges said in their verdict.
Thaksin, who lives abroad to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption at home, said in a video speech from exile in Dubai that he was the "political martyr" of a conspiracy to remove him from politics.
"This case is very political. The ruling will be a joke for the world," said Thaksin, who is widely known outside Thailand for being the former owner of Manchester City football club.
Thousands of troops and police had been deployed across the country for what the local media had dubbed "Judgement Day" but there were no outbreaks of violence by his backers, known as the "Red Shirts", after the ruling.
Dozens of supporters gathered at the headquarters of Thailand's main opposition party where some wept and others shouted slogans. Hundreds of others gathered at a central Bangkok park burned an effigy of the courtroom.
Jatuporn Prompan, a core Red Shirt leader, vowed to go ahead with their planned rallies beginning March 12 in Bangkok and rejected the ruling as "totally unfair" to Thaksin.
"Our fight for democracy will continue. We choose to rally in order that people may digest the ruling and see whether it is fair to Thaksin," he said.
The verdict was an apparent compromise aimed at avoiding violence by the tycoon's supporters, but it left many of them in tears and a pro-Thaksin protest movement said it would push ahead with mass rallies in March.
After reading out a seven-hour verdict, judges said the Supreme Court would seize 46 billion baht (1.4 billion dollars) of the assets from the sale of Thaksin's telecoms firm, which were frozen after the 2006 coup that ousted him.
But they said the twice-elected former leader could hold on to the wealth he had already accumulated before taking office in 2001.
"The majority of the judges rule that the wealth of Thaksin to be confiscated, from share dividends and part of the share sales is altogether 46.37 billion baht," the judges said in their verdict.
Thaksin, who lives abroad to avoid a two-year jail term for corruption at home, said in a video speech from exile in Dubai that he was the "political martyr" of a conspiracy to remove him from politics.
"This case is very political. The ruling will be a joke for the world," said Thaksin, who is widely known outside Thailand for being the former owner of Manchester City football club.
Thousands of troops and police had been deployed across the country for what the local media had dubbed "Judgement Day" but there were no outbreaks of violence by his backers, known as the "Red Shirts", after the ruling.
Dozens of supporters gathered at the headquarters of Thailand's main opposition party where some wept and others shouted slogans. Hundreds of others gathered at a central Bangkok park burned an effigy of the courtroom.
Jatuporn Prompan, a core Red Shirt leader, vowed to go ahead with their planned rallies beginning March 12 in Bangkok and rejected the ruling as "totally unfair" to Thaksin.
"Our fight for democracy will continue. We choose to rally in order that people may digest the ruling and see whether it is fair to Thaksin," he said.
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