The Democrat Party says it will file lawsuits against Department of Special Investigation chief Tarit Pengdith after the Election Commission cleared the opposition party of impropriety over party donations.
On Wednesday, the EC decided its probe into Democrat Party MPs donating their pay to party funds should stop, EC deputy secretary-general Thanis Sriprathes said.
The decision was based on the recommendation of the EC chairman, who also serves as the registrar of political parties.
Earlier, the DSI found 44 Democrat MPs made donations to the party by authorising the secretariat of the House of Representatives to deduct 20,000 baht in donations from their salaries and to transfer the money to the party's account.
The DSI said this was in violation of sections 57 and 71 of the Political Party Act, regarding donations to political parties. It launched its own probe.
Deputy Democrat spokesman Ramet Rattanachaweng, also a member of the party's legal team, said yesterday Mr Tarit should stop investigating the case now the EC had recommended the case be laid to rest.
He said Banyat Bantadtan, a member of the party's advisory panel, and list-MP Pirapan Salirathavibhaga will today file a petition asking the National Anti-Corruption Commission to take legal action against Mr Tarit and Pol Col Nirund Adulyasak, chief of the DSI's Bureau of Special Crime 1, for malfeasance in violation of Section 157 of the Criminal Code.
If found guilty, they will face both prison terms and fines, Mr Ramet said.
He also said the 44 MPs who have been affected by the DSI's investigation will lodge separate lawsuits against the pair with the Criminal Court.
They will also file a complaint with the Administrative Court, asking it to take action against the DSI's special case committee which took up the donations case, Mr Ramet said.
The MPs who donated their money to the party had asked the secretariat of the House to issue a single cheque for a total amount of 1.5 million baht to the party.
The DSI said this breached the Political Parties Act, which prohibits state agencies from making donations to parties.
The EC chairman, however, found the House secretariat acted only as a facilitator in sending the MPs' donations to the party, which did not violate the law, Mr Thanis said.