Thaksin Shinawatra, his gain and lost

Thailand’s ex-Premier lost a football team but he gained a new fortune. In July of last year, he bought Manchester City Football club for 5.2 billion baht. He recently sold it Arabs of the Abu Dhabi United Group for development and Investment for 12.9 billion bath, putting him up a cool 7.7 billion bath.

But his assets worth about 73.6 billion bath seized by the state.

Seksan Bangsomboon, the executive director for the Special Litigation Department,handedover a 125-page indictment report to the court along with 180 cardboard boxes containing legal documents and evidence.

The indictment,approved by Attorney-General Chaikasam Nitisiri,charged that the cash and assets were unlawfully acquired while Mr.Thaksin was in office from 2001-2006 and should be seized.

The assets seizure attempt is part of the assets Scrutiny Committee’s investigations into Mr. Thaksin’s alleged corruption and abuses of authority.

The SAC ordered a freeze on assets after the September 19,2006, coup.

The another case,he and his wife Potjama have not been there for their malfeasance, the corruption case, so the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders will meet without them.

The “in absentia” hearing is on her sweet 772-million-baht purchase of 33 rai of Ratchadapisek land from the Financial Institutions Development Fund in 2003.

It is the only currently active case before the court,and the one the couple fled avoid.

Possible penalty: 13 years in prison, each.

There is no appeal from a Supreme Court Verdict.

The couple, sharing the hardship and hertaches, before rise to the top

It was she, who bailed him out when he failed spectacularly in business and was deeply in dept.

It was she who was the audacious one, who answered all the phone calls from debt collectors to disappear, while all he wanted at the time was to go into hiding and wish for his creditors to disappear.

It was she who pulled out all the land deeds belonging to her and family and mortgaged them to extricate him from dept.

He has kept as a memento the old black-phone to which those debt-collection calls came in.

It symbolised the rock-bottom position from which he rebuilt his life and his fortune.

There was also the deep bond born out of sharing the hardship and heartaches, coupled with the enormous respect on his part for his life partner and her guts.

This binds the couple in a way difficult to understand by outsiders.

The Thailand former Prime minister Mr. Thaksin and his wife Potjaman Shinawatra have been living in London with son and daughters.

Mr. Thaksin said he was living a comfortable life in exile and physically fine, but mentally unhappy.

Those who are not in the same situation as me would not understand how I am feeling.

With a small window of opportunity and timing,the former prime minister did what he had to do to preserve his chance to fight another day.

By retreating,he can say that he is theoretically out of the game, with the hope that national reconciliation will afford him an opportunity to broker a comeback.

Bangkok voted world’s best city

Bangkok has been voted the world’s top city up from place last year, in an online survey commissioned by travel & leisure magazine as part of its World’s Best Awards 2008.

The City of Angels replaced Florence which held the top spot for the past two years in second place was Buenos Aires, followed by Cape Town, Sydney, Florence, Cuzco (Peru), Rome, New York, Istanbul and San Franisco.

It was the first time Bangkok was voted into the top position. The Galapagos Islands, off Ecuador, which ranked fourth in last year’s survey, replaced Bali as the world’s best island destination.

“We’re delighted to welcome so many new winners this year,” said Nancy Novogrod, editor-in-chief of ihe magazine. “Nature and adventure were clearly a draw in the selections.”

In the survey, which covered the period from January to March this year, the magazine’s readers also voted for the best hotel (with The Oriental in Bangkok comingin 14th place),and the best international airline (Singapore Airlines was No. 1, followed by Emirates and Thai International Airways).

For a complete list of the awards, visit the magazine’s web site at www.travelandleisure.com.