Decision on Saxena extradition next week
Decision on Saxena extradition next week
Rakesh Saxena bank fraud
BANGKOK: — Thailand’s long struggle to bring back fugitive bank fraud suspect Rakesh Saxena from Canada will likely reach a conclusion next week.
“As for details of our coordination with Canada’s high public prosecution office, it’s likely that Saxena will be extradited to Thailand. However, I would not like to comment further on a pending court decision [in Canada]. In the next week, there will be certainty over the issue,” Sirisak Tiyaphan, director general of the International Affairs Department at the Attorney General’s Office, said yesterday.
Saxena has been accused of embezzling US$88 million (Bt3 billion) from Bangkok Bank of Commerce, and the statute of limitations on his cases will expire next year.
Sleepless nights for Saxena and some politicians
After fugitive ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, Rakesh Saxena is perhaps the second most-wanted man in Thailand.
Dubbed a “financial wizard”, Saxena might be extradited to Thailand as early as Friday because the British Columbia Supreme Court will be passing a verdict on his fate on Thursday.
Saxena, who, as an adviser to the Bangkok Bank of Commerce, was charged in Thailand in 1996 with embezzling US$88 million (Bt2.94 billion), which led to a run on the bank’s deposits, causing its collapse and sparking off the 1997 crisis. Saxena was arrested at the ski resort town of Whistler, Canada, in 1996. Thai money-laundering officials also seized his assets in the United Kingdom and Switzerland worth more than Bt2 billion.
Saxena is still engaged in a lengthy battle to fight extradition, but his bid was reject by the Appeals Court in Vancouver. If he is not extradited before July 2010, the fraud charges against him in Thailand will get nullified due to the statute of limitations, and he will be able to walk a free man again.
For most of the time fighting the law, Saxena has been under house arrest. He suffered a stroke last March and is now bound to a wheelchair. Last May, the partially paralysed Saxena was seen being physically supported in court by his mother and a nurse.
Over the past three decades, the Indian financier was reputed to have engaged in dozens of high-risk ventures and deals throughout the world.
In an article posted on http://www.nriinternet.com, former barrister-at-law Dr Alexander von Paleske alleges that Saxena is part of shady deals led by Adnan Khashoggi – once considered the richest man on Earth. The BBC’s former CEO Krirkkiat Jalichandra was apparently introduced to a promising young Indian man called Saxena in the early 1990s.
According to Paleske, Saxena is wanted in India for culpable homicide and that he gave up on his communist beliefs after completing his education and started concentrating on fraud and corruption instead.
Also, the article says that Saxena has been very busy during his time in Canada, providing US$10 million (Bt334 million), which is believed to come from BBC, to British mercenary Tim Spicer to finance a counter-coup in Sierra Leone.
Khashoggi and Saxena apparently also had some very serious business at hand and dashed off to Vienna, where they hooked up with a Filipino called Amador Pastrana before the three bought the WMP Bank AG and renamed it General Commerce Bank. The bank was then turned into a boiler room of sorts and the fraud, according to press reports, amounted to roughly $1 billion.
After doing his best to stymie efforts to get him extradited, Saxena might still land on Thai soil this Friday, according to police. As for some politicians who had connections with BBC, Saxena and Krirkkiat, they might just end up spending a few sleepless nights.
LIVE UPDATES 30 Oct 2009
Return of Saxena
Rakesh Saxena is expected to land at the Suvarnabhumi Airport shortly after 9 pm, ending one of the longest extradition battles.
We (The Nation) have a reporter on the same plane, so please stay tuned with us for constantly updated coverage of an arrival that will surely add more spice to the already boiling hot local politics.
Bangkok Bank of Commerce collapse.
Saxena faces first charge
PM vows prosecution will be free from political meddling OAG will pursue his $20m assets in UK and Switzerland
The Office of the Attorney-General will file the first of 20 embezzlement charges against Rakesh Saxena, the man allegedly instrumental in bringing about the collapse of the Bangkok Bank of Commerce, immediately after the police interrogate him.
Police are seeking the court’s permission to hold Saxena on remand, while the OAG will ask the court to deny him bail.
“The case will proceed immediately, and the filing will definitely be made before the statutory limit on July 20, 2010,” said deputy attorney-general Seksan Bangsombun, who is in charge of economic and resource cases.
The office began the manhunt for Saxena in 1996.
Attorney-General Julasing Wasansing said the office is prosecuting 20 cases against Saxena for causing damage of more than Bt10 billion to BBC. The cases are currently at the documentation stage.
Other alleged accomplices have already faced charges.
In its extradition case against Saxena, the OAG focused only on the loan to City Trading, but it will later inform the Canadian authorities about the additional 20 cases, in line with the extradition agreement.
Julasing described Saxena as being in a frail condition and needing help in standing, but having given full cooperation to Thai officials since losing his extradition battle.
The attorney-general also thanked all concerned for their cooperation during the 13-year extradition saga.
“The office will further pursue Saxena’s remaining assets worth more than US$20 million [Bt669 million] in the UK and Switzerland. It should take a while,” he said.
In the initial case, Saxena and then-BBC president Krirk-kiat Jalichandra were alleged to have jointly approved a Bt1.66-billion loan to City Trading.
The amount was beyond their authority and was not based on correct asset evaluation, thus violating the Criminal Code’s articles 83, 352, 353 and 354 and the Securities and Exchange Act’s articles 307, 309, 311, 313 and 315.
The Bank of Thailand and the Stock Exchange of Thailand yesterday promised full cooperation to the prosecution, standing ready to supply evidence and witnesses.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva vowed to prosecute any politicians found linked to the BBC banking fraud case in 1996, dismissing concern about fixing the legal proceedings for the sake of political expediency.
“There is no cause for concern because everything will proceed in accordance with evidence,” he said.
Saxena has boasted of having political contacts with the now-defunct faction known as the “Group of 16″, which has morphed into various coalition cliques, including the current Newin Chidchob faction.
Abhisit said the prosecution of Saxena would be based on the rule of law and free from political meddling.
The government will not play a political game in connection with the fraud case in 1996, Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban said yesterday, echoing his boss. Although he led the censure debate in the House that subsequently exposed the BBC fraud, he would not get involved in the prosecution of Saxena, he said.
Suthep also dismissed speculation that the Democrats might exploit the case as political leverage to rein in coalition allies with linkage to the fraud.
“At the time of the incident, the Democrats did their job as opposition lawmakers and the case has moved on to the prosecution stage, in which justice should be allowed to run its course,” he said.
As the case came to light when the disbanded Chart Thai Party was in power, the then prime minister Banharn Silapa-Archa was in charge of initiating the legal proceedings on the banking fraud, Chart Thai Pattana Party spokesman Wachara Kannikar said.
Wachara called on the authorities to get to the bottom of the fraud and prosecute all culprits regardless of their political connections. He denied that his coalition party, which is the reincarnation of the disbanded party, was trying to shield politicians linked to the fraud.
“The case should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law because society is waiting to see whether Saxena is the final culprit or a precursor to a long list of culprits,” he said.
Pheu Thai claims to have information that would destabilise government
The opposition Pheu Thai Party yesterday claimed it has damaging information regarding extradited financier Rakesh Saxena that could threaten the existence of the government.
The party is taking advantage of the political sentiment surrounding the Bangkok Bank of Commerce (BBC) embezzlement case against Saxena by making a revelation that could link politicians in the government camp to the scandal.
Pheu Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit said politicians of great influence and clout – not part of the government but belonging to coalition parties – were believed to have been involved in the case.
The case will test the government’s political courage and integrity on whether it will take action against the suspected politicians, he said.
Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban, who at the time of the bank’s collapse was in the opposition during the Banharn Silapa-Archa government, played a leading role in exposing the scandal on the House floor that led to the police pressing embezzlement charges against those involved.
“The public and society will see if the government is sincere in bringing about the truth. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Suthep must ensure the safety of Saxena. This case is under the media spotlight both locally and internationally. If anything happens to Saxena, the justice system will be affected,” Prompong said.
The Pheu Thai Party is gathering information and will seek approval from its senior officials to reveal it to the public within the next week.
A source from the ruling Democrat Party yesterday described the opposition’s move as an attempt to discredit the coalition, but with no real impact in terms of destabilising the government.
The source, who requested anonymity, said that even though there were certain cases that could be linked to some government figures, the statute of limitations on most of them had expired.
Meanwhile, Jatuporn Promphan, a Pheu Thai MP and leader of the red-shirt movement, yesterday called on police to use the tape that recorded Suthep’s speech in Parliament that linked the “Group of 16″ and some Democrats as having involvement in the BBC case as evidence in their investigation.
“This will make Suthep and the Democrats realise that they cannot change their stance to bring the culprits to justice, even though the politicians involved in the case are now on the government side,” he said.
He accused the government of ordering the police not to let Saxena talk to the press.
When asked whether Saxena could give a press conference concerning the case, Abhisit said everyone had the right to do so. Asked why police did not let Saxena talk to the press, the PM said he would ask Saxena whether he had been prevented from doing so.
Abhisit said police would probe further into whether any politicians had any involvement in the case.
Democrat Party spokesman Buranat Samudharak, meanwhile, said his party would not interfere in the police investigation in the BBC case because it had vowed to uphold the legal and justice system.
“The party is willing to provide the police with any information, no matter who it involves, and they will be brought to justice in a straightforward manner,” he said.
SPECIAL REPORT
Saxena a political bargaining chip
In the first part of a series, Thanong Khanthong reports that initial pre-bargaining talks could be underway between the Democrat-controlled police and Rakesh Saxena as the leading coalition party tries to zero in on the big fish.
After a good night’s sleep in the hospital within the Bangkok Remand Prison, Rakesh Saxena woke up yesterday morning feeling fresh and in higher spirits than on the first day when he was escorted back from Vancouver. Everything became surreal to him.
The long travel took its toll on his health, especially as he has been confined to a wheelchair after suffering a stroke in March this year. Part of the left side of his body is paralysed. He admitted that he was stressed because he could not sleep. But he was beginning to be able to adjust to the new environment, according to Sophon Thitithampruek, acting commander of the Bangkok Remand Prison.
The previous evening, he had a bowl of Mama instant noodle. Yesterday morning, he ate rice soup and milk, just like other inmates. Saxena was confined to a wing of the Bangkok Remand Prison Hospital, where prisoners with contagious diseases are kept. There are five empty rooms in this hospital area. The Bangkok weather is still humid and hot. Saxena was happy enough to have an electric fan to cool him up. The prison conditions in Bangkok are far from the comfort of his home in his US$1.5 million (Bt50 million) residence in Vancouver, where the Canadian authorities had kept him under a house arrest pending an extradition ruling. Last Thursday, Saxena lost the case after a 13-year legal battle.
Now that Saxena is back in Bangkok and is going to facing charges of allegedly violating securities law and embezzling billions of baht from the defunct Bangkok Bank of Commerce, what will happen next? On TV he looked like a lost soul, who could not find his way around the City of Angels. But he still managed to keep his composure. Never underestimate the power of his brain and his political leverage as he still commands a big pot of wealth that can move the financial markets. After all, Saxena is a VIP inmate, who enjoys first-class treatment from the Thai authorities.
Saxena has now become a political bargaining chip. The Democrats are enjoying an upper hand. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has already made the overture by issuing a threat of his intention to catch other big fish in the net. He declared that the justice system would pursue any additional suspects found to have links with the collapse of the BBC, which caused some Bt200 billion in damage to the tax-payers’ money.
Many former members of the Group of 16, such as Newin Chidchob, Suchart Tancharoen Varathep Ratanakorn, Sora-ath Klinpathum, would find it difficult to sleep peacefully from now on. Banharn Silapa-archa, then prime minister, Surakiart Sathirathai, then finance minister, and Vijit Supinit, then governor of the Bank of Thailand, could also be held accountable for the collapse of the Bangkok Bank of Commerce.
The Democrats now have rushed to take control over the police. The police are divided, but the faction that leans towards the Democrats has been assigned to handle the Saxena case. The police interrogated Saxena at Suvarnabhumi Airport and at the Crime Suppression Centre, where he spent the first night in a haunted cell. Many, who used to be locked up in that haunted cell at the Police Crime Suppression Centre, have come out to tell stories of a not-so-friendly ghost. They were haunted by the appearance of a man wearing a red shirt, who hung himself to death within that cell some time ago. Luckily for Saxena, the ghost did not pester him this time.
Some initial pre-bargaining talks must have already taken place between the Democrat-controlled police and Saxena. If he were to cooperate with the authorities by naming the other suspects in the Bangkok Bank of Commerce scandal, he could face a lighter sentence eventually. Saxena could be prosecuted by up to several dozens of other cases related to BBC with damages worth Bt10 billion. Before leaving Vancouver, Saxena also issued a threat by saying that he would reveal all the names involved if not treated fairly.
Krirk-kiat Jalichandra, the former president of the Bangkok Bank of Commerce, has also been keeping his silence. In one of the cases related to BBC, he has been sentenced to 30 years in prison. He is fighting an appeal in the Supreme Court. Krirk-kiat has all the secrets in his file. He was the one who signed all of the bank documents that gave out the sour loans. Saxena was the financial adviser of the bank then but he did not sign any documents. But the money flowed through the dummy companies both created as a camouflage of high finance.
Both Saxena and Krirkkiat can only protect themselves by telling it all. But then their lives could be in danger if they do so.
Next: Who ordered the closure of the Bangkok Bank of Commerce to cover-up the loan scandal?
Special doctors oversee health of Rakesh Saxena
BANGKOK: — A special team of personal medical advisers to Justice Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga has been assigned to conduct a new medical check-up on extradited banker Rakesh Saxena who is now facing alleged embezzlement charges which led to the collapse of the Bangkok Bank of Commerce (BBC) in 1995.
Mr Pirapan said he assigned the extraordinary medical team to conduct a medical check-up on Mr Saxena while the detainee is at Bangkok Remand Prison (Klong Prem).
The new medical check-up is needed to see whether Mr Saxena is suffering from several illnesses as he claims, and also to determine signs of paralysis, in which then he will have to undertake a treatment of physical therapy, he said.
The medical team will report on Mr Saxena’s health to Mr Pirapan on Wednesday.
Mr Pirapan said that Department of Special Investigation (DSI) officials are prepared to help the police investigations of Mr Saxena if others are implicated.
Fugitive Indian-born ex-financier Saxena, extradited from Canada, arrived in Bangkok early last weekend, and now faces charges for alleged embezzlement. He gave scant information to police after his arrival, saying that he would rather speak in court.
In 1995, Mr Saxena, then BBC’s treasury adviser, allegedly colluded with Krirkkiat Jalichandra, then bank president, and was involved in setting up dummy loans and fabricating accounts to siphon millions from the bank, causing its collapse under US$3 billion in debts, along with nearly 60 other financial institutions, leading directly to the 1997 financial crisis.