November 5, 2009

Now that Rakesh Saxena is in Thai cusฌtody, will he reveal all?

It depends on the ruling Democrat Party. At this point, the Democrats are divided over how to handle Saxena as far as Korbsak Sabhavasu, the deputy prime minister in charge of economic affairs, and Suthep Thaugsuban, the deputy PM in charge of security affairs, are conฌcerned.

The Korbsak faction would like to use Saxena for political gain by going after key members of the Bhum Jai Thai Party and the nowdefunct Chart Thai Party.

In that case, Saxena would have to agree to a pleabargain deal with the Democrats in exchange for testimony that would implicate the politicians benฌefiting from loans extended by the forฌmer Bangkok Bank of Commerce (BBC).

Saxena is now adjusting himself to his cell inside the Bangkok Remand Prison hospital. Corrections Department direcฌtorgeneral Chartchai Sutthiklom said Saxena now looked brighter, because he was getting accustomed to his new enviฌronment. The prisoner, he added, likes to have soft drinks, green tea and fast food.

The Democrats are going to assign Pol General Thanee Sapsomboon, a retired police officer, to handle the Saxena case. Thanee, who handled the sensational case involving the assassination attempt on Sondhi Limthongkul, has been appointed as adviser to the prime minisฌter in charge of security affairs.

One political source said there was a high possibility he would replace Suthep as deputy prime minister in an upcomฌing Cabinet reshuffle, should the relaฌtionship between Suthep and the Democrats reach the point of no return.

The Democrats still have an old score to settle with Suthep following his inept handling of the redshirt protesters who torpedoed the Asean Summit in Pattaya and ignited the bloody rioting during Songkran in Bangkok in April.

Since Suthep has banked his political fortune with the Bhum Jai Thai Party and the coalition partners, he most cerฌtainly does not want to pursue the BBC scandal in that it might link to other politicians.
It was he who in May 1996 exposed the loan scandal linked to the Group of 16 in a parliamentary noconfidence debate that led to the eventual closure of the bank.

Thirteen years later, Suthep is backฌtracking. Yesterday, he said the governฌment would let the police handle the Saxena case rather than invoke the Department of Special Investigation.

As for the censure debate on the BBC case in 1996, Suthep said he and his felฌlow Democrats had done their job and that it was now up to lawenforcement authorities to allow justice to run its course.
Suthep performed some fancy footฌwork with this reply, because he no longer wants to hurt Newin, his new ally.

Publicly, the Democrats have said it will be difficult for lawenforcement offiฌcers to trace the scandal to any politiฌcians who were behind the collapse of BBC. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has already made this clear.

Public prosecutors are building up the first case against Saxena by planning to charge him over the damage arising from BBC’s loan to City Trading.

One Democrat said: “It will be diffiฌcult to link the BBC scandal to politiฌcians like Banharn Silapaarcha, because he has already been banned from poliฌtics. Besides, the Chart Thai Party was also dissolved. As for Suchart Tancharoen, his subordinates might have been involved in the loan scandal, but legally how can he be implicated?”

Anyway, with Saxena in their hands, the Democrats appear to be willing to go for broke.
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