Former army chief to report to gov't on allegation of financing "red-shirts"

Thailand's former national army chief General Chaisit Shinawatra is going to the Centre for the Resolution of the Emergency Situation (CRES) in capital Bangkok Wednesday at about 03:00 p.m. to clarify a CRES allegation that he was a financier of the anti-government "red-shirt" movement, the Bangkok Post's website reported.

General Chaisit, an elder cousin of ousted former premier Thaksin, is among eight persons summoned to provide financial information to the CRES on Wednesday.

The others include Pinthongta Shinawatra, Yingluck Shinawatra, Bannapot Damapong, Kanchana Honghern, Yaowares Shinawatra, Karun Hosakul, and Wichan Minchainant.

General Chaisit said he had withdrawn money from his account at one bank to deposit at another bank, as bank staff advised him he would earn a higher interest rate.

He claimed that he also withdrew money from a bank account to pay for renovating his house in central Pathum Thani province's Klong 4 area.

"Most of my money is still in banks. I do not understand why the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) has considered there was unusual financial transaction," he said.

It was reported that Miss Pinthongta, a daughter of Thaksin, would authorize her lawyer to clarify the allegation on her behalf later Wednesday. She said her bank accounts were frozen by a court order and she could not make any financial transaction from these accounts.

Source: Xinhua