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BANGKOK - Thailand's attorney general wants all of former premier Thaksin Shinawatra's US$2.2 billion fortune to be seized by the court in its ruling this month, the office said in closing arguments Tuesday.
Chief of the attorney general's team, Sekesan Bangsomboon, said the 121-page final document had been submitted to the Supreme Court "to explain why the assets should be seized and we have asked the court to seize all of it."
Thaksin is living in exile to escape a two-year jail term for graft handed to him in absentia in October 2008.
On February 26 the Supreme Court will decide whether the fortune of the telecoms tycoon -- frozen in the months after he was deposed in a coup in 2006 -- can be seized by authorities.
Thaksin's lawyer submitted a closing statement on his behalf in late January, denying that the former leader used his power as prime minister to obtain his wealth.
Thaksin's ex-wife, Pojaman Damapong, argued in her closing statement that many of the assets that prosecutors argue were transferred to her by her then-husband, in fact belonged to her before the marriage.
"With our evidence, we have asked the court to lift its request for the assets seizure," Pojaman's lawyer Somporn Pongsuwan said.
Thaksin loyalists are stepping up anti-government demonstrations ahead of the court date.
The government has begun deploying at least 20,000 extra security forces across the country in case of a populist backlash if the court rules to seize Thaksin's fortune.
Despite staying abroad since August 2008, Thaksin remains a divisive figure in his homeland. Both his opponents and supporters have staged numerous mass rallies over the past year, which have sometimes turned violent.
- AFP/ir
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