Thailand yesterday promised a fair trial for a fugitive banker after he was extradited from Canada for allegedly embezzling millions of dollars and helping to trigger the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.
Indian national Rakesh Saxena lost a 13-year fight against extradition when Canada’s Supreme Court refused to hear his case on Thursday, and he was put on a plane to Thailand that was due to arrive in Bangkok late yesterday.
Saxena stands accused of embezzling 1.7 billion baht (US$52 million) from the Bangkok Bank of Commerce, which collapsed in 1995. He fled to Vancouver and was arrested in July 1996 at the request of Thai police.
“The Canadian Supreme Court on October 29 rejected Saxena’s appeal filed on June 7, 2009, therefore his extradition case ended and he had to be extradited to Thailand,” Thai Attorney General Chulasingh Vasantasingh told reporters.
“He has been handed over to Thai authorities in Canada and is due to arrive in Bangkok at 9:30pm [1430 GMT]. The attorney general’s office will hand him to police for investigation and the filing of formal charges to the court,” he said.
Thai Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban vowed that the government would not meddle with the trial, which is sensitive because some members of the shaky coalition government have been accused of having ties to the case.
“Everything will proceed in accordance with the law. The government will not interfere or assist any suspects even though they are in the government coalition,” Suthep told reporters.
Canadian officials were not immediately available for comment.
Saxena worked as an adviser to the former managing director of the Bangkok Bank of Commerce from February to July 1995 and was accused over irregularities in loan approvals totaling 175 billion baht.
The subsequent collapse of the bank was seen as an early indication of the regulatory failures that would lead to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.
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