BANGKOK, Thailand – Rakesh Saxena, a former adviser to the Bangkok Bank of Commerce (BBC), has been granted a royal pardon and released from prison, Thailand’s Department of Corrections announced on Tuesday.
Saxena, 72, an Indian national, was convicted of embezzlement and violations of securities laws in connection with the collapse of BBC in the mid-1990s.
The collapse of the Bangkok Bank of Commerce in 1995 is considered the starting point of the financial institution crisis of that era, which eventually led to the Tom Yum Kung crisis in 1997.
The main cause of the collapse of BBC was the extension of loans to businessmen and politicians for takeovers of various companies listed on the stock exchange. The aim was to profit from buying and selling these companies, which ultimately resulted in massive non-performing loans for the bank.
He fled to Canada but was extradited to Thailand in 2009. In September 2022, Thailand’s Supreme Court sentenced Saxena to 335 years in prison and fined him 33.5 million baht (about $990,000). However, under Thai law, the maximum prison term was capped at 20 years.
The pardon was granted as part of a royal amnesty on the occasion of King Maha Vajiralongkorn’s 72nd birthday on July 28, 2024. Saxena was released on September 9 after serving approximately 15 years in various facilities, including Bangkok Remand Prison, Klong Prem Central Prison and a medical correctional institution due to age-related health issues.
Sources from the Department of Corrections confirmed that Saxena has been transferred to immigration authorities for deportation proceedings in accordance with Thailand’s Immigration Act. (TNA)
