Is A Thai National Bank Covering Up Robbery Of Its Own Money?
Date
1/3/2024 12:09:51 AM
(MENAFN- Asia Times) Criminal-defamation laws in Thailand have become more likely to be repealed in 2024 because of a misguided prosecution and a corruption scandal involving a large national bank.
Thailand plans to apply to join the UN Human Rights Council. But if significant crimes are proved in the unusual case involving a whistleblower who exposed a community banking scandal, that move could be derailed again.
Also read: Bad laws make Thailand less safe for the brave
An extraordinary commission established by the Office of the Prime Minister to investigate the scam concludes its evidence-taking early in February. The trial of whistleblower Chutima Sidasathian begins just days later.
The special commission has been hearing from villagers and officials in the Non Thai district of the province of Nakhon Ratchasima, where three suicides and trauma affecting scores of farming families are blamed on the banking scandal.
A total of 45 million baht (US$1.3 million) was diverted from the national government-funded scheme, run by the Village Fund to provide low-cost loans for impoverished farmers, into personal accounts.
While the amount is not huge, a lot of interest now centers on one of Thailand's largest banks, the Government Savings Bank (GSB). It has been alleged in evidence that the bank covered up the robbery of its own money.
While the special commission is not a court of law, the evidence in the form of signed statutory declarations carries similar weight and will be used against anyone incriminated in the process.
The 18-person commission is headed by three officers from the Attorney General's Department, with six officers from the Village Fund, three from the bank, three from the Department of Justice and three from the Department of Special Investigation, Thailand's equivalent of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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