Pheu Thai wants Dems impeached

Pheu Thai wants Dems impeached

A key member of the Pheu Thai Party demanded Friday that impeachment charges be brought against other former prime ministers, including Democrat Party leaders for their rice-pledging programmes and losses stemming from the 1997 financial crisis.

Surapong Tovichakchaikul, a deputy prime minister and foreign minister in the Yingluck Shinawatra government, told a press conference in Bangkok on Friday that financial losses generated under previous Democrat-led governments totalled more than those created by Ms Yingluck's corruption-riddled rice scheme.

Surapong Tovichakchaikul

Mr Surapong asserted that former Democrat prime minister Chuan Leekpai should face retroactive impeachment because the Financial Sector Restructuring Authority (FRA) that he supervised generated losses of 600 billion baht.

The FRA was set up after the 1997 financial crisis to buy bad loans and assets from troubled financial institutions devastated when the Bank of Thailand was forced to float the baht on in July after it had used up its foreign reserves in a losing battle against foreign speculators to defend the local currency.

By Oct 24 that year, the dollar had depreciated by 60%, bankrupting many Thai companies, which had borrowed extensively in dollars and other foreign currencies during pre-1997 economic boom times.

The FRA ended up auctioning off its repurchased assets at an average 22% of the original value, generating billions of baht in losses between what the government paid out to the failing banks and what they sold the assets for.

Mr Surapong noted the approximately 600 billion in losses outweighed the loss from Ms Yingluck's rice-pledging scheme, whose losses he estimated at about 500 billion baht.

The Finance Ministry Thursday said it had calculated the loss from the programme at 518 billion baht, but warned losses may go much higher once costs related to stock clearing are taken into account.

Mr Surapong complained against the National Anti-Corruption Commission's retroactive impeachment proposal against Ms Yingluck for the rice-scheme loss. Politicians removed via impeachment may be suspended from politics for years.

The Pheu Thai politician also demanded impeachment against former prime ministers Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrat Party and Surayud Chulanont as, he said, their rice price schemes also had generated losses.

The Finance Ministry stated Thursday that 11 rice programmes implemented between 2004 and 2011 resulted in total losses of 163 million baht. The ministry did not break out individual programme losses.

Mr Surapong planned to file his complaint with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, the National Anti-Corruption Commission and Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya on Monday.

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