Democrats call for legal action on KTB loan scandal
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The opposition Democrat Party yesterday called on the Attorney-General's Office to decide soon whether to file charges against former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and 31 others in connection with a loan scandal involving the state-owned Krung Thai Ba
Tankhun Jitt-itsara, the spokesman for opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva, said there was concern of possible political intervention in the justice system that would weaken the scrutiny of politicians close to the ruling government.
Accompanied by Democrat deputy spokeswoman Mallika Boonmeetrakul and the party’s legal team, Tankhun yesterday submitted a written request to the Attorney-General’s Office to expedite the case. Thaksin and 31 others are accused of malfeasance for instructing the KTB to provide Bt9-billion in loans to a real estate company linked to certain government figures.
In 2008, the post-coup Assets Examination Committee (AEC) suggested the case should be brought to court but the Attorney-General’s Office said more investigation was needed.
Following expiry of the AEC, a joint committee between the Attorney-General’s Office and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) in 2009 referred the case to the A-G’s office for resolving whether a petition should be filed with the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division on Political Office Holders.
Tankhun said yesterday that three years had passed and the Attorney-General’s Office had yet to make a decision.
“Further delay could cause damage to the country. There is also concern that there could be intervention in the justice system, which prevents full scrutiny,” he said.
The Democrat added that the public prosecutors should act within 30 days.
He said the NACC was confident there was clear evidence against the accused in this case and that if the public prosecutors did not take the case to court, the anti-graft agency would file the petition itself.
“Whatever the Attorney-General’s decision is, there must be an explanation to society,” he said. “People in the justice system should act straightforwardly in the public’s interest. Justice that is delayed is no justice at all.”
Meanwhile, Mallika said the Democrats would follow up on other cases against Thaksin and Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. She called on the Attorney-General’s Office to deal with the case straightforwardly.
