|
Thailand probes mystery money
12/12/2007 12:15 - (SA)
Bangkok - Thailand's anti-money laundering office has been ordered to investigate the source of 60 million baht in cash carried in from Hong Kong last week during a key national election campaign, local media reports said on Wednesday.
Deputy Prime Minister Sonthi Boonyaratglin, who led a September 2006 coup to oust premier Thaksin Shinawatra, ordered the inquiry.
The Nation newspaper reported the cash was carried in from Hong Kong last week by up to nine men, at least six of them Hong Kong nationals, who complied with regulations by declaring the money on arrival, according to a senior official in the prime minister's office.
Thaksin himself was reported to have been in Hong Kong last week.
The military junta and its allies have gone to considerable efforts to neutralise the populist appeal of the exiled Thaksin by banning his political leadership and encouraging a series of corruption and regulatory investigations.
Yet the former telecom tycoon's well-funded proxy party, the People's Power Party, is expected to be a big winner in the December 23 election called to restore civilian rule.
The military leadership has accused him of attempting to subvert the election from which he is officially banned.
The election commission said on Wednesday it would investigate the distribution of videodiscs around the northeast containing appeals by Thaksin in favour of the party.
Memories of Thaksin
The commission also asked police to investigate the admitted forging of signatures on party membership documents that, although relatively trivial, might lead to a complete ban if it were proven that senior party officials were involved.
A total of 21 billion baht will be spent by all parties in the campaign for the 480 parliament seats, Kasikorn Research Centre said.
It estimated that almost half of the total will be spent in the large and politically important northeast region, where memories of Thaksin's cheap loans, village grants and affordable health care remain strong.
Apart from legitimate campaign expenses, much of the money will be used for buying votes directly, a long-standing practice in Thai politics, the centre added.
The critical question hanging over the election is whether the military and Thailand's older elite could accept even a partial return to power by Thaksin, albeit by proxy.
- Sapa-dpa
- SAPA
|
News
