Rakesh Saxena faces 335 years as Supreme Court upholds ruling
The Supreme Court on Monday upheld the lower court’s ruling against Rakesh Saxena, sentencing him to 335 years in jail. He was also ordered to return the embezzled 2.5 billion baht.
Saxena, 70, an Indian national, worked as a treasury adviser with the Bangkok Bank of Commerce (BBC) from 1993 to 1995. He was behind several high-risk ventures that did not just bring down the bank but also allegedly contributed to the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
He was charged in 1996 but fled to Canada. After a long extradition battle, he was finally forced to return to Thailand in 2009.
Monday’s ruling found Saxena guilty of violating the Securities and Exchange Commission Act in three cases.
He was accused of aiding the now-deceased former BBC president Krirkkiat Jalichandra and others in authorising loans of more than 30 million baht to 10 companies without the executive committee’s approval and without examining their ability to pay.
The Criminal Court found Saxena guilty of violating Articles 307, 308, 311 and 315 of the Stock Exchange of Thailand Act and Section 83 of the Criminal Code and handed down a 335-year prison term. However, the law stipulates a maximum jail term of 20 years.
The court also hit Saxena with a fine of 33 million baht and ordered him to return 2.5 billion baht to the bank.
Though Saxena appealed this ruling, the Appeal Court stood by the lower court’s decision. He appealed again to the Supreme Court, which also upheld the lower court’s ruling.
In June 2012, the Bangkok South Criminal Court sentenced Saxena to 10 years in prison along with a 1 million baht fine. He was also ordered to return 1.13 billion baht to the bank in connection with illegal loans granted to City Trading Corp at 1.6 billion baht.
Krirkiat was declared bankrupt in 2009 and indicted for fraud and embezzlement worth 50 billion baht. He was sentenced to 20 years in jail and died of cancer in October 2012.
