The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) will proceed to seize the assets of a former minister based on a court ruling that he deliberately misstated his assets.
A fact-finding panel probing the case in which Sombat Uthaisang, 81, was suspected of being unusually rich made the decision on Monday.
Mr Sombat was formerly deputy interior minister (2001-5), adviser to the Information and Communication Technology Ministry and chairman of the board of the Telephone Organisation of Thailand, now TOT Plc, during the Thaksin Shinawatra government.
He did not declare some of the assets believed to belong to him and the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions ruled in 2009 that he had intentionally concealed assets.
The NACC subsequently probed his case to determine whether he was unusually rich.
Narong Rat-amarit, who chaired the panel, said on Monday evidence had shown he was unusually rich, an offence under Section 80(1) of the 1999 organic NACC law.
The evidence was based on the discrepancies between the assets he and his wife declared when he took office and one year after he vacated office.
The panel found some 106.3 million baht in five bank accounts under the names of his wife and children between 1997-8 had not been declared, he said.
Mr Sombat could prove the sources of 15 million baht of the amount, leaving 91.3 million baht unaccounted for.
When taking into consideration the interest for the unaccounted portion, the total unaccountable sum was 108.6 million baht.
After Monday’s decision, the case will be sent to the Attorney-General’s Office to seek a court order for the seizure of 108.6 million baht from the accounts, he said.