PHUKET: Big banks are lobbying Thailand's Government because they have the most to lose from investigations that restore stolen parkland to a national park on Phuket, according to sources.
The likelihood is that any land misappropriated from Phuket's Sirinath National Park would be restored - and the big banks would be big losers, by billions of baht.
Sources within the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation have revealed the lobbying now being undertaken by big banks, according to a report by the Thailand Information Centre for Civil Rights and Investigative Journalism.
The centre's online site also claims that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has said that keeping the contentious land in private hands would at least mean more jobs for locals.
Although he acknowledges that progress has slowed, the Director of Sirinath National park, Cheewapab Cheewatam, said today the investigations were still proceeding.
The ''14 plus 366'' investigation was begun by former department head Damrong ''The Demolisher'' Pidech who went into retirement after driving a rapid-fire investigation into Phuket parkland theft.
Five-star resorts and villa property operations bordering the park were named in the initial 14 investigations, with probes on another 366 plots of land yet to move beyond the planning stages.
Thousands of rai of the national park are alleged to have been stolen over decades by private businesses in collusion with corrupt government officials.
However, who is left footing the bill appears to be the prime concern of the big banks, not justice.
The banks see only a downside if investigations prove correct and the banks, who loaned large amounts to many of the companies involved, are left without cash or property.
One of the owners of a large property under investigation spent an hour with Phuket Governor Maitree Inthusud in a meeting at Provincial Hall in Phuket City on Friday.
Neither party would confirm the nature of their talks, which were held in private in the VIP room.
The likelihood is that any land misappropriated from Phuket's Sirinath National Park would be restored - and the big banks would be big losers, by billions of baht.
Sources within the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation have revealed the lobbying now being undertaken by big banks, according to a report by the Thailand Information Centre for Civil Rights and Investigative Journalism.
The centre's online site also claims that Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has said that keeping the contentious land in private hands would at least mean more jobs for locals.
Although he acknowledges that progress has slowed, the Director of Sirinath National park, Cheewapab Cheewatam, said today the investigations were still proceeding.
The ''14 plus 366'' investigation was begun by former department head Damrong ''The Demolisher'' Pidech who went into retirement after driving a rapid-fire investigation into Phuket parkland theft.
Five-star resorts and villa property operations bordering the park were named in the initial 14 investigations, with probes on another 366 plots of land yet to move beyond the planning stages.
Thousands of rai of the national park are alleged to have been stolen over decades by private businesses in collusion with corrupt government officials.
However, who is left footing the bill appears to be the prime concern of the big banks, not justice.
The banks see only a downside if investigations prove correct and the banks, who loaned large amounts to many of the companies involved, are left without cash or property.
One of the owners of a large property under investigation spent an hour with Phuket Governor Maitree Inthusud in a meeting at Provincial Hall in Phuket City on Friday.
Neither party would confirm the nature of their talks, which were held in private in the VIP room.
I hope the banks do indeed lose a lot of money, causing them to sue the corrupt land officials who wrongfully issued these land titles.
Furthermore hopefully in the future the banks will be motivated to investigate with due diligence the submitted land documents before they issue loans against them.
It's all about making every link in the chain accountable. Make those involved personally suffer the consequences of corruption and perhaps in a generation or so we will see a change in the attitudes in Thailand towards corruption.
Posted by Andrew on November 12, 2012 13:30