Thai finance ministry files complaints against Thaksin's wife

Thailand's Finance Ministry has filed complaints with the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) against Pojaman Shinawatra, the wife of the ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, over a controversial land purchase.

Pridiyathorn Devakula, the deputy prime minister and finance minister said here on Tuesday that he did not ignore AEC's order to file complaints against wrongdoers of alleged irregularities or corruption under the ousted Thaksin government as being criticized.

"I just received the order from AEC on Monday and I follow the instruction to file the complaints on that night. It is not true that I had been informed of the order many days before," he was quoted by local news group The Nation as saying.

Earlier, AEC warned state agencies that ignore the AEC's order to file complaints against wrongdoers could face corruption charges.

The AEC had also told the Transport Ministry and Airports of Thailand to file complaints in the case of corruption in the procurement of CTX 9000 bomb scanners for Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Under the anti-corruption law, parties that have suffered damage need to file complaints about suspected wrongdoers, including people holding political positions. That allows the AEC to send cases, after investigation, to the Attorney-General for prosecution.

Source: Xinhua