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Finally reported: Kasit off to Germany to retrieve royal jet


Flashermac

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Nothing really new in this article, except that a German professor thinks that the Thai government should be forced to pay - which doesn't mean much, since he isn't part of the government.

But nevertheless I think he is right. If the Thai government doesn't follow the beforehand agreed international arbitration laws in such a high profile case, it won't do it even less in low profile cases.

 

'Berlin should do what it can to make Thailand pay'

By THE NATION

 

Published on August 5, 2011

German media published reports yesterday suggesting that Berlin had to do everything in its power, including freezing foreign assets, to make the Thai government pay compensation to the Walter Bau construction firm over the conflict related to the Don Muang Tollway project.

 

Spiegel Online reported that the Thai government was thinking about issuing a guarantee to pay the ค30 million (Bt1.27 billion) demanded by the administrator of the now-insolvent German firm Walter Bau, which suffered huge losses because of an alleged breach of contract by the Thai government.

 

The administrator, Werner Schneider, obtained a court order last month to sequester the Boeing 737 flown by HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn while it was parked at Munich Airport. The case has led to intense diplomatic wrangling and could upset ties between the two countries.

 

The Thai government initially argued that the jet should be released because it was the Prince's personal property and did not belong to the state. A German court is due to rule in September whether the impounding of the plane was lawful. If it decides that the jet is indeed the Prince's private property, then it will be released.

 

In the meantime, the courts have set a ค20-million guarantee for its release, but so far the Thai government has refused to pay. The government has also declined an offer by the Crown Prince to use his personal assets to settle the case, promising to use its own methods to settle the case quickly.

 

The Thai government has been at loggerheads with the German construction firm over the payment of ค30 million in damages after an international arbitration tribunal in 2009 ruled in favour of the contractor.

Walter Bau took its case to the US District Court in New York on March 26 last year, seeking the payment under the New York Convention. The New York court also backed Walter Bau, but the Thai government appealed against the decision last Thursday on July 28. The company has also asked a court in Berlin to enforce the arbitration findings. The court is now considering the case.

 

Officials from the Thai Office of the Attorney-General are in Germany trying to seek solutions. The German government may end up having to get involved, and may even have to pay the compensation to Walter Bau, according to Spiegel Online.

 

A recent report by an expert on insolvency law, Professor Christoph Paulus of Berlin's Humboldt University, concluded that the German government should be doing everything in its power to make Thailand pay its debt to the insolvent construction firm. That includes "curtailing trade relations" or the "freezing foreign assets". If the government takes no action, "a compensation claim is feasible", Paulus wrote.

 

The Nation

 

 

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This seems to have gotten quite messy and there is growing discontent amongst the German media that the German government isn’t doing enough to address the issue. Germany invests heavily in projects over in Thailand and a lot of money is at stake here.

The current Thai Prime minister is trying to smooth things over as best he can and he has assembled a legal team of Thailand Lawyers along with the foreign minister to start a defence case. This will be an unwanted problem for the new Thai government and it is especially delicate as it involves the monarchy.

The Thai Democrat Party was dealt a crushing defeat during the last general election and they won’t want this tarnishing the generally decent job Abhist did during his time in office. On the Thai side national pride is at stake and its going to take a lot for the Thais to admit that they were in the wrong. Business as usual in the land of smiles.

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This seems to have gotten quite messy and there is growing discontent amongst the German media that the German government isn’t doing enough to address the issue. Germany invests heavily in projects over in Thailand and a lot of money is at stake here.

The current Thai Prime minister is trying to smooth things over as best he can and he has assembled a legal team of Thailand Lawyers along with the foreign minister to start a defence case. This will be an unwanted problem for the new Thai government and it is especially delicate as it involves the monarchy.

The Thai Democrat Party was dealt a crushing defeat during the last general election and they won’t want this tarnishing the generally decent job Abhist did during his time in office. On the Thai side national pride is at stake and its going to take a lot for the Thais to admit that they were in the wrong. Business as usual in the land of smiles.

 

I don't see a growing discontent in German media, but I don't read German business papers that much and maybe I missed it. Anyway, it's holiday season in Germany and I don't think that there will be any decision in the upcoming week. Moreover, those politicians and bureaucrats who had to stay in Berlin are busy to deal with the financial crises in Europe and the attacks on Italy, Spain and Greece. Thailand must be really far away for them, not only literally.

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German court releases Crown Prince's jet

 

 

A German court has released the impounded Boeing 737 aircraft owned by His Royal Highness Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, former prime minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said yesterday.

 

Werner Schneider, the insolvency administrator, seized the Boeing 737 in Munich on July 11 to force the Thai government to comply with an international arbitration panel ruling in 2009 for it to compensate Walter Bau AG.

 

Chavanond Intarakomalyasut, secretary to former foreign minister Kasit Piromya, also confirmed the release of the plane.

 

The German court's decision came after the Thai government agreed to provide a letter of guarantee for 38 million euros (about 1.61 billion baht) to secure the plane's release, he said.

 

After the payment, the German court no longer had the authority to impound the aircraft, Mr Chavanond said.

 

Walter Bau AG has demanded the Thai government pay compensation for alleged damages related to the Don Muang Tollway project.

 

The Thai embassy in Germany has been working with local authorities for the release of the aircraft from Munich airport, he said

 

 

Bangkok Post :hmmm:

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so is the jet back home or...???

 

No idea where it is and no idea who really owns the plane.

Apparently the Thai government gave Walter Bau a bank guaranty and the jet was released. The 'Augsburger Allgemeine' ran an article on august 10th and quoted insolvency administrator Werner Schneider.

 

So where the jet is now, who cares.

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well aFTER all this bickering & rumour mongering I personally find it interesting if a real conclusion was made or not. if the yet was silently written off & sweepted under the rug with all the rest well I wouldn't be surprised. obviously thats's not newsworthy so thats why I asked if any had followed the news to the end cuz at one point I guess I gave up following...

thanks :beer:

 

on a sidenote I noticed the german ambassador donated some 40k€ for thai flood relief so definitely the 2 countries are still talking ;)

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