With UK visa voided, Thaksin en route to RP?

MANILA, Philippines – Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand was reportedly traveling to the Philippines from China when British authorities alerted international airlines of the cancellation of his visa.

AFP said an airline official, speaking on condition of anonymity, revealed that the British embassy had informed all airlines in an e-mail on Friday not to allow Thaksin and his wife Potjaman to board flights to Britain.

“The British embassy sent an e-mail message to all airlines.... It’s general practice for all airlines, so no airline can take them on board to England from any port,” the airline official said.

There was no confirmation of his arrival in Manila.

The former Thai prime minister was reportedly visiting Manila to see a close business associate who had served as broker for many of his business deals, including the sale of his family’s stake in Shin Corp. Plc to Temasek of Singapore.

The sale – together with other questionable business dealings – led to the filing of graft and fraud charges against Thaksin and eventually triggered his ouster in a bloodless coup in 2006. The transaction violated his country’s constitutional limit on foreign ownership.

Thaksin’s Thai-Malaysian business associate is reportedly now a director of a P10-billion disputed property in Manila.

The low-key businessman is also allegedly behind the transfer of a piece of prime property to a losing company in Manila. 

“He visits the country once in a blue moon,” the source said.

Considered as one of the richest men in Malaysia, the businessman also reportedly has shareholdings in big companies in Singapore, China and the Philippines.

No confirmation

British embassy officials declined to confirm or deny the report, but in the e-mail seen by AFP, Bangkok-based immigration liaison manager Andy Gray, from the UK Border Agency, wrote: “The United Kingdom Border Agency has revoked the UK visas held by the following Thai nationals: Thaksin Shinawatra... Potjaman Shinawatra.” The report also lists the pair’s passport numbers.

“The UK visas contained in the passports of the individuals listed above are no longer valid for travel. Airlines are advised not to carry these passengers to the UK,” the e-mail said.

Thaksin, ousted in a 2006 coup, fled to Britain in early August after his wife was convicted on tax evasion charges, saying he would not receive a fair trial in Thailand.

He has since been sentenced in absentia to two years in prison for conflict of interest after helping his wife buy state-owned land when he was prime minister. Four other corruption cases are pending against him.

Thaksin’s Thailand-based spokesman said he could not confirm the report that he was traveling to the Philippines.

“What I can verify is that Thaksin has not received any document from the British authorities concerning this issue.... But if it’s true Thaksin can clarify the matter,” said Phonthep Thepkanjana.

Thaksin’s critics in Thailand, supported by a group called the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), have occupied the grounds of the prime minister’s offices since August, accusing the current government of running the country on his behalf.

The group, whose protests preceded the 2006 coup, descended on the British embassy on Oct. 30 to demand Britain extradite the former premier, a week after a senior Thai prosecutor admitted the chances of doing so were “slim.”

But the director of the attorney general’s international affairs department said he hoped to begin the legal process by the start of next year.

Thaksin addressed his supporters in Thailand on Nov. 1, denouncing his opponents in a telephone address to 90,000 loyal supporters packed into a Bangkok sports stadium.

The populist politician maintains a loyal support base among the kingdom’s majority rural poor.

Speaking from an undisclosed location, Thaksin thanked the crowd but told them he could not return to the kingdom from exile without a royal pardon.         

Despite his considerable wealth, Thaksin was forced to sell British Premier League club Manchester City in September after his assets in Thailand were frozen as a result of corruption and fraud charges.

The 59-year-old sold the club to United Arab Emirates-based investment group Abu Dhabi United Group for Development and Investment (ADUG) but keeps an honorary role in the club.