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Thailand's ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra will not return to
Thailand to acknowledge charges by the next week as ordered by the
Department of Special Investigation (DSI), Thaksin's lawyer
Noppadol Pattama said Thursday.
The DSI ordered on Tuesday that Thaksin, his wife Pojaman and
his sister-in-law Bussaba to hear in person the charges of
concealing assets after the summons was issued last Friday.
"I don't think he will return," said Noppadol, according to
Bangkok Post news website.
Noppadon said there are other ways to acknowledge the charges,
adding that the Assets Examination Committee, a panel investigation
various corruption accusations against Thaksin, has said Thaksin
can acknowledge charges abroad."
The assets concealment case involving Thaksin and his kin have
been under investigation by the DSI since this March at the request
of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
DSI investigators traced shares through several firms and found
that the Shinawatra family reported its shareholding in SC Asset at
60.82 percent in its listing filing to the SEC and also in its
prospectus when the shares were floated to the public.
But the family did not include its hidden shares held by
Overseas Growth Fund and Offshore Dynamic Fund, which were its
nominees.
DSI director-general Sunai Manomaiudom said the DSI will ask for
arrest warrants if the defendants fail to show up without any good
reasons.
Sunai was quoted as saying that if Thaksin would not return to
hear the charges, they would file the case to attorneys.
He also rejected the idea by Thaksin's lawyers that the DSI
should travel abroad to deliver the charges to Thaksin.
He said they might use video conference to save budget if the
law permits.
Meanwhile on Thursday, the Office of the Attorney General filed
corruption charges against Thaksin and his wife with the Supreme
Court on a land purchase case, the first time criminal charges have
ever been filed against a former premier in the kingdom.
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