Thaksin gets 3 years over Exim loans

The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders has sentenced former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra in absentia to three years in prison in connection with the Exim Bank loan case.

The case involves the lending of 4 billion baht to the Myanmar government in 2004. The court ruled that a conflict of interest took place when Thaksin ordered Exim Bank to lend 4 billion baht with a very low interest rate to the Myanmar government so it could buy products from Shin Satellite Plc, a company owned by his family.

The court found him guilty of violating Section 152 of the Criminal Code and sentenced him to three years in prison. The offence is punishable by a jail term of 1-10 years and a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 baht.

The charge was brought in 2008 by the Asset Scrutiny Committee (ASC), a panel set up after the 2006 military coup to build cases against the Thaksin Shinawatra government. The ASC claimed the Myanmar government later used the money to buy 400 million baht worth of products sold by Shin Satellite.

The Attorney General's Office did not accept the case and the National Anti-Corruption Commission later agreed to take over the case from the committee.