BANGKOK
Thailand's anti-corruption commission expanded a probe Thursday into former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and four ministers, investigating if they had accumulated "unusual" wealth in relation to a government rice-subsidies scheme that incurred massive financial losses.
Such a charge is a staple of post-coup periods in Thailand, with deposed premiers and parliamentarians' assets examined amid suspicion that they have become "unusually rich."
The commission, which has already indicted Yingluck for dereliction of duty over the scheme, has set up a new sub-committee that will examine the assets and liabilities of the former head of government, two former commerce ministers and two former deputy commerce ministers.
Voravit Sukboon, the deputy secretary-general of the commission, said Thursday that the probe would seek to "find out if they have accumulated unusual wealth from their handling of the scheme."
The anti-corruption commission, which has seemed reluctant to investigate corruption accusations against the Democrat Party -- the political enemies of Yingluck Shinawatra and also her deposed brother, ex premier Thaksin -- or the military, has shown greater efficiency in its investigation about the rice-scheme.
On May 8, the commission unanimously indicted Yingluck of dereliction of duty in relation to the subsidies program. The day before, Yingluck was removed by the Constitutional Court from her prime minister position for abuse of power.
The case is related to a scheme criticized for opening the door to massive corruption. Yingluck is accused of having done nothing to stop that corruption despite being aware of it and having caused massive financial losses to the country.
The scheme was initiated soon after the Puea Thai party -- For the Thais -- of Yingluck won July 2011 elections. Under the scheme, the government bought rice directly from farmers at a price 50 percent higher than market rates. At first, the program was popular with farmers, but it ran quickly into hundreds of billions of baht of financial losses (billions of euros).
On Thursday, a former MP for the Democrat party, Detkitwikrom Warong, asked the junta at a press conference to put an end to what he called the "corruption-plagued" scheme.
Yingluck's government was overthrown in a May 22 coup, and the army chief, General Prayuth Chan-ocha, installed a junta, named the National Council for Peace and order to run the country.
www.aa.com.tr/en
