The Department of Special Investigation is trying to track down Kanchanapa Honghern, secretary to the ex-wife of fugitive former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, and her husband, who fled the country to avoid money-laundering charges in the multi-billion-baht Krungthai Bank loan case, which also involved Thaksin.
DSI director-general Paisith Wongmuang said on Friday that the Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases had issued warrants for the arrest of Mrs Kanchanapa and her husband Wanchai Honghern on Monday.
Both failed to meet public prosecutors on Oct 31 to hear indictment decisions. The DSI earlier recommended public prosecutors arraign them on money-laundering charged for receiving a 26-million-baht cheque allegedly linked to the Krungthai Bank loan case.
The couple left for Hong Kong on Oct 5, Pol Col Paisith said.
The DSI would try to locate their whereabouts and then start an extradition process. The charge had no statute of limitations, he added.
Mrs Kanchanapa was secretary to Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra, former wife of Thaksin. The DSI alleged the 26-million-baht cheque was part of the 9.9-billion-baht loan that state-owned Krungthai Bank suspiciously made to subsidiaries of Krisda Mahanakorn Plc in 2003 and 2004, when Thaksin was prime minister. Krisda Mahanakorn was at the time in KTB's non-performing loans group.
Bank executives were found to have approved the loan because a "big boss" said there would be no problem.
In 2015, the Supreme Court for Holders of Political Positions sentenced 16 people to 12 to 18 years in jail for malfeasance. They included three former top Krungthai Bank executives and Krisda Mahanakorn executives.
Thaksin was the first defendant in the case, but he left the country in 2008.
His son Panthongtae Shinawatra is another defendant in a similar money-laundering case. He allegedly received a 10-million-baht cheque connected to the loan. He pleaded not guilty in court on Nov 5.