Arrest warrants issued for Man City owner Thaksin Shinawatra (former Thai PM)

[Kire]

Source: Telegraph

Arrest warrants issued for Man City owner Thaksin Shinawatra
Thailand's Supreme Court said it would issue arrest warrants for the country's former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife after they flew to Britain while facing trial in Bangkok.

By Kevin Doyle
Last Updated: 3:33PM BST 11 Aug 2008

Mr Thaksin, a billionaire telecommunications tycoon turned politician and owner of Manchester City football club, was allowed to leave Thailand to attend Friday's opening of the Beijing Olympics on the condition he return to face a court hearing examining corruption allegations later this week.

In a statement faxed to television stations in Bangkok, Mr Thaksin apologised for his decision to head to London with his wife Potjaman at the weekend rather than returning to Thailand as demanded by the court. He said their action was prompted by political foes who ousted him as premier in a 2006 military coup and were now using the courts to "finish off myself and my family".

"I must apologise again for deciding to come to live in England. If I am fortunate enough, I will return and die on Thai soil, just like other Thais," Mr Thaksin wrote.

The couple's three children were reported to have left Bangkok for London on Saturday.

A figure as controversial as he is popular in Thailand, 59-year-old Mr Thaksin rose to power in 2001 riding a massive wave of support from the country's rural farmers and urban poor. His populist policies saw him win a second term as prime minister. But his style of leadership coupled with allegations of corruption and abuse of power earned him enemies among the middle class and Bangkok's establishment, which culminated in the military ousting him in 2006.


Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/2540164/Arrest-warrants-issued-for-Man-City-owner-Thaksin-Shinawatra.html

[Swagman]

1. the Ferdinand & Imelda of Thailand !

they say when he last left Thailand he had 60 Louis Vuiiton suitcases stuffed with cash.

[mallard]

5. Re: Thaksin vs McCoy & Imelda

Don't think your analogy would suit either Thais OR Philipinos.

Marcos was brilliant when first elected - and a real Philipino not bound to the Chinese oligarchs. Imelda turned him into a dictator and pilferer and downrated Ilocandia on the national map. She had Ninoy Aquino killed. Yes, they were a disgrace. They should have unplugged his refrigerated crypt outside of Kaneohe when she stopped paying her electric bill.

But even as a Chinese Thai, Thaksin was hugely popluar with the rural masses. He earned that money through fair over-the table trade!

It's different. He's smart to go back to England and his supporters will CONTINUE to pull back - and maybe eventually DOWN - the fake ugly military thug gov't that ousted him to take power without a mandate. He will be allowed political asylum I think - and for good reasons.

The monsters-that-be back in Bangkok do indeed want to suck him into a jail cell he doesn't belong in. Unfortunately, Thailand has not come out of the post-coup rut that reeks of communism with it's very distinct brand of 'so, are you with us or... are you out?' management of the public sector, including all town offices, police stations, national railway, postal service and - of course - the teachers.

Thailand remains a screwed-up neighbor of (now) similar regimes in Cambodia, Burma and Laos - even making a fake war to get public support, no less.

I'd say Philipinos would NEVER, EVER settle for that shit, but that's another never-ending story for ...

... to be continued.

regards, mallard

[WriteDown]

9. I like your Marcos take....

It was the evil woman who made him do it. Very old testament.

[Captain Hilts]

2. This Liverpool fan couldn't be happier! Go Reds! nt

[Trillo]

3. The hypocrisy is so clear.

If you're a rich billionaire, in many ways, some quite diverse, you're quite above the need to follow the same laws and or customs that poor folks must live with day-to-day and cradle-to-grave.

[enlightenment]

4. I wonder if the FAPL will reconsider

approving him under the "fit and proper persons" test?

[jakefrep]

6. What did this guy do that makes a military junta preferable?

Besides being extremely wealthy?

[T_i_B]

7. There must be a lot of Man U fans in Thailand!

Seriously though, why on earth did he sack Sven?

[jakefrep]

8. LOL...

Maybe Thaksin thought he could take a run at Big Phil or Mourinho.

[T_i_B]

10. Emergency loan raises doubts over Thaksin’s future and City’s finances

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/premier_league/manchester_city/article4510636.ece

Doubts about the future of Thaksin Shinawatra at Manchester City grew last night when it emerged that John Wardle, the former chairman, was required to lend the club £2 million last month so that staff could be paid. Thaksin created more unwanted headlines yesterday when he arrived in London seeking political asylum, having refused to attend the start of a corruption trial in his native Thailand, but his fragile grip on affairs at City appears weaker than ever after the latest revelations surrounding his unstable regime.

Wardle, who preceded Thaksin as chairman, resigned from the board last month in despair at the way that the club was being run, but before doing so, he loaned City £2 million to ensure that staff would be paid. He has since been repaid in full, with all staff having received their wages, but the club’s apparent need to accept his offer of a short-term loan suggests that City’s financial position is even more parlous than recent revelations had suggested.

Thaksin won instant popularity among City’s supporters a year ago when, having bought the club, he immediately sanctioned £40 million-worth of new signings, such as Vedran Corluka, Martin Petrov and Elano, but it has now emerged that, with little of the money paid up front, the outstanding payments on those deals are restricting activity in the transfer market under Mark Hughes, the new manager. The £18 million deal to sign Jô, the Brazil forward, from CSKA Moscow earlier this summer was similarly structured and, in the meantime, Hughes has clashed with Paul Aldridge, the club’s new chief operating officer, over transfer policy.

Hughes and Aldridge are now working together to try to secure at least two signings before the transfer window closes on August 31, but there are serious and growing concerns about the cashflow situation at the club. For the past year, Thaksin has been working on the basis that he will be able to bankroll the club once he gets his hands on £800 million of his assets, which are frozen in Thailand, but, as the former Prime Minister continues his battle against the authorities in Bangkok, his prospects of gaining access to that money appear more remote than ever.