Thailand's top junta-appointed anti-graft investigator threatened yesterday to confiscate the assets of overthrown billionaire prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra if he tried to move them overseas.
The warning came just hours after Thaksin's wife, Pojaman Shinawatra, left Thailand to be reunited with her husband in London, where he took refuge after last week's coup.
"As of now, there have been no assets confiscated," said Sawat Chotipanich, head of a high-powered committee set up by the military late on Sunday to probe the books and tax records of Thaksin Cabinet members and their relatives.
"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.
"If my committee finds any corruption among former ministers, the committee will prosecute them immediately," he said.
Junta leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin last week justified the nation's first coup in 15 years by accusing Thaksin of corruption and of insulting King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Much of the billionaire politician's wealth is held by his wife and their three children.
Meanwhile officials denied he had left Thailand ahead of the coup with an "unusual" amount of baggage, after reports he may have whisked cash out.
Thaksin left for a series of foreign engagements 10 days before his ouster, while a later flight from Bangkok brought officials for a summit in Cuba that picked him up on the way.
Media reports had suggested the two aircraft carried more than 100 items of luggage, hinting Thaksin may have packed them with some of his vast fortune.
But a Royal Thai Air Force spokesman said that "both flights took off from the military airport and the amount of luggage was not unusual."
Three bodies are now probing corruption allegations against Thaksin; the new committee, the auditor general's office with widened powers and a revived nine-member National Counter-Corruption Commission.
Meanwhile, the coup leaders will yield power to a civilian prime minister once an interim constitution is in place later this week, General Winai Phattiyakul said yesterday.
"We are not the prime minister's boss and the prime minister is not our boss," he said.
"After the constitution is announced at the end of this week, the CDR [Council for Democratic Reform] will then transfer to be National Security Council," he said.
Winai said it would take about six months to complete the constitution, which would be subject to final approval by the military. It would then be put to a referendum before elections were held, a process which might take about eight months, he said, adding that the generals would return to barracks only after the election.
"We will assist the next government in looking after the country, to sustain the economic and social stability," he said.
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