Rakesh Saxena's Thai beach property seized

Bangkok, Nov 4: Authorities have seized a 105 million-baht beach property in Thailand belonging to Indian-born banker Rakesh Saxena, who is wanted here to answer over decade-old financial fraud charges.

The seizure by the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) is the first confiscation of the fugitive banker's assets in Thailand. Over the years, Thai authorities have seized more than 26 billion baht of assets held by Saxena abroad.

Saxena is one of the prime accused in the collapse of the Bangkok Bank of Commerce (BBC) in the mid-1990s which led to the Asian financial crisis in the late 1990s.

The seized property in Thailand was held in the name of a close aide to Saxena, the AMLO chief said.

Saxena fled Thailand in 1996 soon after the collapse of the BBC to which he was financial adviser. He is currently contesting his extradition from Canada.

UNI