Former Thai central bank chief sued

Former Thai central bank chief sued

Associated Press, Bangkok

Thailand's Finance Ministry will sue a former central bank
governor for US$1.6 billion, blaming him for a failed defense of
the baht against speculative trading that led to the 1997 Asian
financial crisis, officials said Monday.

They said the ministry's Financial Institutions Development
Fund has completed more than three years of investigation and
submitted a civil lawsuit to the public prosecutor against
Rerngchai Marakanond.

But since no one expects Rerngchai to possess or pay such a
huge amount - even if ordered by a court - the lawsuit would
appears to be simply an attempt by the government to apportion
blame for the region's greatest economic debacle.

Rerngchai was Bank of Thailand governor during the crucial
May-June 1997 period when speculative currency trading of the
baht had become rampant. The bank tried to protect the baht by
using its foreign exchange reserves, which dwindled from $32
billion to about $800 million in a matter of weeks.

As the defense became untenable, Thailand was forced to
devalue the baht on July 2, triggering the economic crisis across
Asia. Thailand later had to seek a $17.2 billion bailout from the
International Monetary Fund to keep its economy afloat.

The investigation singled out Rerngchai as responsible for the
part of the losses incurred from the national reserves, said
Pairat Kangwansura, a government prosecutor responsible for the
case.

Rerngchai maintained he was innocent and was being made a
scapegoat.

"Forget about 70 billion baht. I don't even have 10 million to
pay back and since I did not do anything wrong why do I have to
shoulder that responsibility?" Rerngchai told reporters Monday.

He said the Bank of Thailand had done the currency swaps
during the baht defense in accordance with bank rules and
procedures that had been in operation for more than 40 years. His
superiors and colleagues had been informed of what was being
done, he said.