Public prosecutors will petition the Civil Court for the confiscation of additional assets worth almost 3 billion baht from individuals tied to scandal-hit Stark Corporation, according to a senior official of the Office of the Attorney General.
Wirun Chanthananan, director-general of the Department of Special Litigation (DoSL), said the planned asset seizure request follows the Anti-Money Laundering Office's (Amlo) decision in February to freeze 2.89 billion baht worth of assets from people accused of colluding in fraud.
He said Amlo forwarded necessary documentation and related evidence to the department on April 23, seeking a court ruling for assets confiscation. A request for confiscation of assets must be lodged with the court within 90 days of the freeze order.
The DoSL's working panel was reviewing the case and was expected to file for a court order by the May 12 deadline, he said.
Mr Wirun said the department recently filed a petition with the Civil Court seeking the seizure of 355 million baht worth of assets linked to the Stark scandal. This portion of the assets was ordered frozen by Amlo in November last year.
He said the planned request would bring the total assets to be confiscated to 3.2 billion baht. He noted that the financial damage in the Stark scandal was estimated at 40 billion baht.
Amlo would ask the department to seek further seizures whenever it locates assets linked to Stark, he said.
On the criminal investigation of the case, Mr Wirun said examination of witness and evidence lists was scheduled for June 10.
The Department of Special Investigation has recommended legal action against seven Stark employees and five companies for alleged forgery, fraud, embezzlement and money laundering under the Securities and Exchange Act.
The seven defendants were identified as Stark's largest shareholder Vonnarat Tangkaravakoon, former board member Chinawat Assavapokee, former chief financial officer Sathar Chantrasettalead, former chief marketing Kittisak Jitprasertngam, Mr Sathar's former secretary Yosabavorn Amarit, former chair Chanin Yensudchai and secretary Nattaya Prabpetch.
The five companies were Stark and its subsidiaries - Phelps Dodge International (Thailand), Thai Cable International, Adisorn Songkhla Co and Asia Pacific Drilling Engineering.
Mr Wirun also said the department, Amlo and the Civil Court have agreed to improve efficiency and expedite money-laundering cases which cause extensive damage to the economy by sharing information electronically.