The Civil Court has ordered the confiscation of 49 million baht in assets from a former Treasury Department director-general found in October 2006 to be unusually rich.
A 2003 file photo of former Treasury Department director-general Nibhat Bhukkanasut. (Photo by Chanat Katanyu)
The court order was made on Sept 29, but only now revealed.
Court sources said the assets confiscation was made under Section 80(2) of the National Anti-Corruption Act of 1999 after public prosecutors filed a case based on a ruling by the National Anti-Corruption Commission that Finance Ministry official Nibhat Bhukkanasut had unusual wealth.
The NACC alleged that both Mr Nibhat, now 72, and his wife had 49 million baht in savings that they could not properly account for.
The NACC also found Mr Nibhat had received six cheques made out to him worth 30 million baht from a firm that won the contract to develop a block of state-owned land. His wife was accused of receiving payment of 14 million baht claimed to be for brokering a separate land deal found to be non-existent.
From the trial and examination of evidence, the court found that Mr Nibhat could not properly explain how he had obtained the 49 million baht while serving as director-general of the Treasury Department.
Mr Nibhat claimed the money was from sales of his precious antiques and his wife's land, but he could not bring buyers of the objects to testify in court. There was also no evidence proving how his wife obtained money from the land sale.
Mr Nibhat was required to prove beyond doubt to the court that the 49 million baht was not unusual wealth as alleged by the NACC, but he was not able to do so.
Under the law Mr Nibhat has 30 days to appeal, from the time the order was made, Sept 29.