PM on his way to London

beer monkey wrote:Five's ? . only joking nkstan.

i wonder if he knows next weeks lottery numbers too.

panick wrote:

beer monkey wrote:Five's ? . only joking nkstan.

i wonder if he knows next weeks lottery numbers too.

If the winning number has loads of "Fives" in it Stans up for a good "Hit"

Me-thinks I best go in disguise to NK next month or I might be up for one too

Ousted PM's wife leaves for London

The wife of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Pojaman, left Bangkok early Monday to join her husband in London as the nation's new military leaders launched graft probes against him, the chief of immigration said.


"She has left with two others, her housekeeper and a close friend, at 1:30 am on Thai Airways Flight 910" to London's Heathrow airport," Lieutenant General Suwat Thamrongsrisakul told AFP.


Pojaman is widely believed to have exerted great influence over her husband's activities. Much of the billionaire politician's wealth is held by her and their three children.


Thaksin was in New York for the UN General Assembly when the military seized power during the night of September 19. He then went to London, where he maintains a residence and where one of his daughters is studying.


His two other children are believed to be in Thailand.


The new ruling junta has moved quickly to open investigations into alleged corruption by Thaksin's government and have threatened to seize the assets of anyone found guilty of wrongdoing.


Agence France Presse

Speculation has been rife that Mr Thaksin may have sneaked money out of the country in the days leading up to the coup. He left for Finland to begin a long, multi-nation foreign tour on Sept 9, loading up his government-assigned aircraft with 58 large suitcases and trunks, the official of the national carrier said.

The prime minister's aircraft, named Thai Koofah, was then left parked in Finland for more than a week as Mr Thaksin continued on his trip around the country on other transportation, the AP reports.

A second aircraft carrying 56 suitcases - an Airbus 340-600 - was dispatched from Bangkok On Sept 17 (two days before the coup) to meet up with the prime minister just days before the coup, the THAI official said. It is not even clear there were any other Thaksin party members on this second aircraft.

Thai corruption inquiries begin

The coup has so far been peaceful and a new PM is expected soon
Thai investigators are starting to look at corruption allegations against ousted PM Thaksin Shinawatra.
Sawat Chotiphanit, the head of a new anti-graft committee, said Mr Thaksin's assets could be frozen if he had tried to transfer them abroad.

Government corruption was one of the main reasons given by the military for launching last week's coup.

Earlier this year, suspected financial wrongdoing triggered mass protests against the government.

In particular, the $2bn sale by Mr Thaksin's family of its stake in a telecoms empire to a company in Singapore aroused suspicion.

Three separate bodies will investigate alleged corruption under the old regime - a sign that the issue is clearly a priority for the new administration.

The military rulers have revived the old National Counter-Corruption Commission, which was abandoned under the 1997 constitution. The nine-member grouping held its first meeting on Monday.

The powers of the auditor general's office have also been increased to include extensive graft probes, and the office is soon expected to deliver a verdict on whether corruption was involved in the purchase of X-ray scanners at Bangkok's new international airport.

But the main focus of attention is on the special panel headed by Sawat Chotipanich, which has been given wide-ranging powers to review all projects undertaken by Mr Thaksin and his government, to look for evidence of graft.

"As of now, there have been no assets confiscated," said Mr Sawat.

"But if there is evidence proving that the suspects are trying to move or transfer assets before a court ruling, we will seek court approval to seize their assets," he added.

The Thai press has speculated that Mr Thaksin managed to take some assets out of the country before the coup.

Airline officials told the Associated Press he had travelled with more than 100 cases and trunks when he flew to New York for a UN meeting last week.

But Group Captain Montol Suchookorn, a spokesman for the Royal Thai Air Force, told the French news agency AFP: "The amount of luggage was not unusual."

Mr Thaksin, a former telecoms tycoon, is reported to have amassed a fortune of more than $2bn - although many of his assets are believed to be held by his wife, children and close associates.

Mr Thaksin's wife Pojaman left Thailand in the early hours of Monday morning, to be reunited with her husband in London, where he has been staying since late last week.

New PM

The coup's leaders have been discussing the appointment of a new civilian prime minister.

They are expected to provide a shortlist to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who will name a new leader as early as Wednesday.

Among the likely candidates are Pridiyathorn Devakula, governor of the Bank of Thailand, and Supachai Panitchpakdi, director-general of the UN Conference on Trade and Development.

The military has also said it will hold fresh elections by October next year.