Thai coup leader says little proof of Thaksin corruption

THAILAND: Investigators have failed to uncover solid evidence to support corruption charges against Thailand's ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, the country's coup leader said in an interview Thursday.

However General Sonthi Boonyaratglin advised Thaksin against returning in the near future, warning that the military was on the alert for any risk of a counter-coup by his supporters.

"It will be difficult to implicate him" in major corruption cases, Sonthi told the Nation newspaper.

"I am not sure how far the Office of the Auditor General can investigate suspected corruption cases involving him. They might get to nowhere at all," he said.

"We cannot impound the money he made with accountable legal evidence, but can only look for some possible hidden (evidence) with questionable background," he said.

He quickly revived the nation's dormant corruption watchdogs and set up his own high-powered team of investigators to look into allegations of graft by Thaksin and members of his government.

"Under the previous government, widespread corruption was evident. The administration was plagued by irregularities. Independent organizations ceased to function, the administrative mechanisms as per the 1997 constitution were stalled," he told the paper.

But Sonthi acknowledged that the military could lose the public support it has generally enjoyed so far if nothing emerges to back up specific corruption claims.

"We have tried to abide by the law and take all parties' concerns into account," he told the Nation.

Meanwhile the wife of Thaksin met with the top adviser to Thailand's revered king early Thursday, apparently in a bid to seek permission for his return.

Pojaman Shinawatra, who is considered a shrewd political player in her own right, spent 15 minutes at the home of former prime minister Prem Tinsulanonda, according to an AFP reporter outside his residence.

Prem is believed to have played a key role in orchestrating the September 19 coup that ousted Thaksin while he was in New York for the UN General Assembly.

Thaksin has since been living in exile in London, where he maintains a residence.

Pojaman made no remarks on her way in or out of Prem's home, but Thai media reported that she had gone there to seek permission for Thaksin to return.

"She insists Mr Thaksin won't engage in political activities after he returns," a close source to Prem told the Bangkok Post.

The Thai-language Post Today said Pojaman wanted to clear the air between Prem and Thaksin, and believed that the mistrust between the two men was the result of a long-running series of misunderstandings.

Bangkok, Thursday, AFP