Embezzler in 1997 Asian financial crisis sentenced to imprisonment

Rakesh Saxena, one of those accountable for the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for embezzlement.

Saxena was convicted and sentenced by the South Bangkok Criminal Court for violating the Securities and Exchange Act and Article 83 of the Criminal Code.

The court also imposed a fine of one million baht on the 60-year-old Indian-born financier, who arrived at thecourt compound on Friday in a wheelchair and in prison uniform.

He was ordered to repay 1.132 billion baht in connection with illicit loans granted to City Trading Corp totalling 1.6 billion baht.

On Feb 10, 1995, Saxena, former adviser to the Bangkok Bank of Commerce (BBC), borrowed money from the BBCalong with former BBC president Krirkkiat Jalichandra and other bank executives using City Trading as a nominee.

Collateral for the loans was appraised at about 100 times the market value, from 26.9 million baht to 1.351billion baht.

The BBC collapsed in 1995, and Saxena fled to Vancouver. He lost a 13-year fight against extradition and wasdeported back to Thailand in 2009.

The failure of the bank contributed to the turmoil that led to the 1997 Asian financial collapse, known as the "Tom Yum Kung" crisis because it started in Thailand.

If Saxena cannot pay the fine, his prison sentence will be increased by up to two years, a court official said.

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