The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) is trying to track down Kanchanapa Honghern, secretary to the ex-wife of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and her husband, who fled the country to avoid money-laundering charges in the multi-billion-baht Krungthai Bank (KTB) loan case, which also involves Thaksin.
Karnchanapa: Fled on Oct 5
DSI director-general Paisit Wongmuang said yesterday that the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases had issued warrants for the arrest of Ms Kanchanapa and her husband Wanchai Honghern on Monday.
Both had failed to meet public prosecutors on Oct 31 to hear indictment decisions. The DSI had earlier recommended that public prosecutors arraign them on money-laundering charges for receiving a 26-million-baht cheque allegedly linked to the KTB loan case.
The couple left for Hong Kong on Oct 5, Pol Col Paisit said.
The DSI is trying to find their whereabouts before beginning an extradition process. The charge has no statute of limitations as it is a case related to corruption, he added.
Ms Kanchanapa was secretary to Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra, the former wife of Thaksin. The DSI alleges that the 26-million-baht cheque was part of the 9.9-billion-baht loan that state-owned Krungthai Bank suspiciously made to subsidiaries of Krisda Mahanakorn Plc in 2003 and 2004, when Thaksin was prime minister.
Bank executives were found to have approved the loan because a "big boss" had said that there would be no problem.
