The National Anti-Corruption Commission has sought the indictment of Kasem Nimmonrat, the former Pheu Thai Party MP and former vice-president of the Chiang Mai Provincial Administration Organisation (PAO), on a charge of having amassed unusual wealth.
The NACC yesterday said yesterday the anti-graft agency had found Kasem, 53, had accrued wealth worth 21 million baht, which it said could not be explained.
The wealth was based on the assets and liabilities record which Kasem had officially declared to the NACC at the conclusion of his term as vice-president of the Chiang Mai PAO.
The allegedly questionable wealth pertains to two pieces of land in Mae Rim district of Chiang Mai worth a total of 11.8 million baht, as well as 61 million shares in Ascon Construction Plc valued at 9.2 million baht, which are held by Kasem's wife Suda.
The NACC decided to forward the investigation summary to prosecutors and recommended the former Pheu Thai Party MP be indicted by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions and the assets in question be seized by the state.
Earlier, the Supreme Court division sentenced Kasem to 12 months in jail for concealing his wealth and ordered the seizure of his assets worth about 168 million baht.
The seized assets included the shares in Ascon Construction Plc and Wyncoast Industrial Park Plc, money from sales of MLINK Asia Corp shares, investment funds in the stock exchange and plots in Chiang Mai.
The court also ruled that Kasem, a close aide of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra's sister Yaowapa Wongsawat, violated Section 38 (2) of the Anti-Corruption Act.
It said he falsely declared assets worth more than 186 million baht in total in May last year, as claimed by the NACC.
The court rejected Kasem's submissions that his income had been generated from running his personal businesses such as a rice mill, an ice house and a construction company. No details were available on how much those enterprises made him as income.