Krirkkiat gets another 20 years.

The Criminal Court sentenced former president Krirkkiat Jalichandra, former president of the failed Bangkok Bank of Commerce (BBC), and other defendants to a 20-year term of imprisonment and a fine of 3.13 billion baht on embezzlement charges on Wednesday.

The other four are former BBC senior executive Ekachai Athikomnantha, former BBC financial management division chief Wanchai Thammanitiwat, American Standard Appraisal Co Ltd and American Standard Appraisal managing-director Phairoj Sangsilpa.

They were convicted of lending money to Saudi arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi without asking for the BBC board's approval, causing more than 1.56 billion baht in damage.
This latest conviction is among multiple prosecutions the former banker is undergoing as he faces sentences totalling more than a century in prison.

In September last year the Criminal Court sentenced Krirkkiat to 20 years in jail and imposed a multi-billion-baht fine for corruption offences. He had been convicted of lending money to an associate to buy additional shares in the bank.

The Criminal Court found in September that in 1995 and 1996, Krirkkiat lent over two billion baht to Support Systems Co.

He failed to ask the BBC board to approve the loan, a practice required by the Bank of Thailand for any loan exceeding 30 million baht.

Later he extended repayments for the borrower for six months and lent nearly 500 million baht more to the company.

Support Systems Co actually spent the money on new BBC shares for four companies owned by Rakesh Saxena, Krirkkiat's former adviser and the bank's former treasury adviser.

Krirkkiat also faces 20 years' jail, a fine of 4.95 billion baht and an order to repay the BBC 2.47 billion baht together with Support Systems Co, the third defendant.
The court also separately fined Support Systems Co six million baht.

The fourth defendant, Rangsan Piyawongpinyo, director of the four companies of Rakesh Saxena, was sentenced to nine years in jail.

Saxena is living in Canada, where he has foiled all legal attempts to extradite him to Thailand.

The court at the time acquitted the second defendant, former BBC vice-president Ekachai Athikhomnantha.

Although the prosecution and the BBC had accused Ekachai of taking part in lending to Support Systems Co together with Krirkkiat, Krirkkiat had never authorised him to approve then loan.

Earlier the Bangkok South Criminal Court sentenced Krirkkiat to 30 years in jail and a fine of 3.2 billion baht on three other embezzlement cases.

The Criminal Court earlier also sentenced him to a 60-year jail term and fines of US$472 million and 1.1 billion baht, also for embezzlement.