The India-born former advisor to a collapsed Thai bank was on Friday sentenced to 10 years in prison for financial embezzlement that severely harmed the bank and hit hard the banking system of the country.
A Bangkok court on Friday convicted Rakesh Saxena, the former adviser to the Bangkok Bank of Commerce (BBC), and sentenced him for violating the Securities and Exchange Act.
The court also levied a fine of one million baht ($31,500) on the 60-year-old ex-financier, who arrived in court on a wheelchair in prison uniform.
He was also ordered to repay 1.132 billion baht ($35.9 million) in connection with illicit loans granted to City Trading Corp totalling 1.6 billion baht ($50 million).
On February 10, 1995, Saxena along with former BBC president Krirkkiat Jalichandra and other bank executives used City Trading as a nominee to borrow money from the BBC, Bangkok Post said.
Collateral for the loans was appraised at about 100 times higher than the market value, the post said.
The court found Saxena guilty of assisting Jalichandra in organizing dubious loans in 1995. Krirkkiat was sentenced to 20 years in prison on embezzlement charges in 2007.
On October 29, 2009, Saxena was deported to Thailand after fighting 13-year-long extradition battle in Canada.
On October 31, 2009, when the Supreme Court of Canada denied the final Appeal of Saxena, he was immediately handed over to Thai authorities who flew him to Thailand, where Saxena is now awaiting trial on fraud.
Saxena denied guilt and said he will appeal the verdict.
"Nobody in this country knows the financial laws. It's the Bank of Thailand and the prosecutors who are to blame," he told reporters outside of the courtroom.
"This is absolutely wrong," he said.
The court also levied a fine of one million baht ($31,500) on the 60-year-old ex-financier, who arrived in court on a wheelchair in prison uniform.
He was also ordered to repay 1.132 billion baht ($35.9 million) in connection with illicit loans granted to City Trading Corp totalling 1.6 billion baht ($50 million).
On February 10, 1995, Saxena along with former BBC president Krirkkiat Jalichandra and other bank executives used City Trading as a nominee to borrow money from the BBC, Bangkok Post said.
Collateral for the loans was appraised at about 100 times higher than the market value, the post said.
The court found Saxena guilty of assisting Jalichandra in organizing dubious loans in 1995. Krirkkiat was sentenced to 20 years in prison on embezzlement charges in 2007.
On October 29, 2009, Saxena was deported to Thailand after fighting 13-year-long extradition battle in Canada.
On October 31, 2009, when the Supreme Court of Canada denied the final Appeal of Saxena, he was immediately handed over to Thai authorities who flew him to Thailand, where Saxena is now awaiting trial on fraud.
Saxena denied guilt and said he will appeal the verdict.
"Nobody in this country knows the financial laws. It's the Bank of Thailand and the prosecutors who are to blame," he told reporters outside of the courtroom.
"This is absolutely wrong," he said.
