Football
Associated Press 17y

Thailand will probe source of funds for Thaksin Manchester City deal

SINGAPORE -- Thailand will investigate the source of the
funds that ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra plans to use in
his $162 million bid for Britain's Manchester City soccer club, the
Thai finance minister said Sunday.

Manchester City recommended to its shareholders Thursday to
accept Thaksin's offer for the English Premier League club. The
billionaire, who made his fortune in telecommunications before
serving as prime minister in 2001-06, was ousted in a coup in
September and lives in exile in London.

Prosecutors last week charged him and his wife with conflict of
interest and malfeasance in a 2003 purchase of government-held
Bangkok real estate. More than a billion dollars of his money has
been frozen in Thailand.

When Thaksin was prime minister and was required by law to
declare all his wealth, none of the declarations disclosed foreign
assets, Thai Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn said.

"So this money which would be used for Manchester City is still
a mystery to Thailand," he told reporters in Singapore at the
World Economic Forum on East Asia.

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