The Thai press is hot on the Rakesh Saxena plundering of BBC bank story. The Canadian courts just cleared the way for Saxena, former head of the now defunct BBC bank, to return to Thailand to stand trial on bank fraud. Security is tight. The Thai Attorney General Office has issued a statement that attempts to assassinate Saxena may occur.

The Bangkok Post, which ran in the headline, “Government not afraid of political fall-out”, quoted Newin Chidchob, who is helping to prop up the Abhisit Vejjajiva government, as saying: “I never borrowed from the bank.” However, Thai E-news, which opposes the current government, claims Newin did borrow from the bank.

Meanwhile, Saxena told The Nation: “I may reveal the political inter-play that bought the BBC bank down.” 

The Bangkok Post and the Nation are considered supportive of the current government, with the Nation landing many lucrative media contracts with the government.

When in charge of the bank, Rakesh made a number deal of loan with few strings attached. Much of that money is believed to have gone towards loans to politicians – most notably the ‘Group of 16′ politicians.

Thailand is now ranked as the second most corrupt country in Asia. Massive corruption under the current government is well documented and many believe it to involve billions of US dollars.