Questions have arisen over whether the Bank of Thailand had a hand in forcing property tycoon Anant Asavabhokin to step down as chairman of the board at LH Bank Plc.
Mr Anant surprised the market yesterday as he announced his resignation from director positions at four of the group's listed companies, namely LH Bank Plc, Land and Houses Plc, Quality Houses Plc (QH) and Home Product Center Plc (HomePro).
He was not obliged to step down, as he has not been charged yet.
The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) only issued a summons last week to question the property tycoon on June 7. The summons is to acknowledge the charge, saying investigators found clear evidence of links to money laundering in the Klongchan Credit Union Cooperative embezzlement case.
But sources say there is more than meets the eye.
"This is a very political issue," said a source close to LH Bank's management.
The source said the central bank hinted that Mr Anant should step down from the post or he could be forced out.
Anant: Observers say he had little choice
The ongoing 16.6-billion-baht deal to sell a 35.6% stake in Land and Houses Financial Group, the parent firm of LH Bank, to Taiwan-based CTBC Financial Holding may have influenced the move, as resistance from Mr Anant to step down could have complicated the purchase that was approved by Taiwanese financial regulators in March.
LH Financial said in a filing with the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) that Mr Anant resigned from chairman and director positions at both LH Financial and LH Bank, effective May 19, while Land and Houses Plc, in which he holds almost a 24% stake, reported that he resigned as chairman and director effective May 22.
HomePro also announced Mr Anant's resignation as chairman and director, while QH said he resigned as director, both effective yesterday.
Land and Houses, one of the country's largest developers, owns 24% of QH, 34% of LH Financial and 30.2% of HomePro.
Other sources said Mr Anant had little choice but to step down because if the DSI were to charge him, he would be ineligible to keep the positions based on the rules that govern financial institutions.
"He stepped down from the other companies because he wanted to show his spirit, but for LH Bank, if there is a charge, he would need to step down and not wait for the court's verdict," said another industry source.
An informed source at the Bank of Thailand agreed that Mr Anant would eventually be disqualified from serving as chairman and director of LH Bank if the DSI pressed charges, but this source was unaware of whether Mr Anant was forced to give up the positions.
The central bank did not acknowledge any responsibility for the moves. Ronadol Numnonda, the central bank's assistant governor of the supervision group, said the bank received Mr Anant's resignation letter from both LH Financial and LH Bank after it ordered the bank to clarify the issue.
LH Bank is required to inform the Bank of Thailand immediately when a new chairman is appointed, Mr Ronadol said.
The central bank's approval letter for the appointment of directors and senior management requires banks to immediately notify the Bank of Thailand as soon as they become aware of any material information that may affect their qualifications as per the "fit and proper" criteria of such employees at financial institutions.
SET president Kesara Manchusree said the exchange could review the Best CEO award criteria in the future after two top executives who were winners have been found guilty or are expected to be charged by state agencies.