Indian-born Rakesh Saxena was freed from prison today, where he has been since 2012 after being convicted on embezzlement and securities fraud charges, thanks to the Amnesty Decree announced on the occasion of HM the King’s 6th cycle anniversary on July 28.
Saxena, 72, was escorted from the prison, by police from the Economic Crime Suppression Division, to the Immigration Bureau for deportation to India.
Due to his frail physical conditions, he was temporarily admitted to the Police General Hospital pending deportation processing.
During the 1990s, he was appointed treasury advisor to Krirkkiat Jalichandra, vice president of the now defunct Bangkok Bank of Commerce (BBC).
While serving at the BBC, Saxena, in collaboration with Krirkkiat and other individuals, engaged in several high-risk deals and ventures, causing extensive losses to the bank, which was ultimately taken over by the Bank of Thailand.
Saxena fled to Canada after the collapse of the BBC.
File phto: Rakesh Saxena
The Thai government sought his extradition and fought a 13-year courtroom battle before he was extradited to Thailand in 2008 to stand trial.
The collapse of the BBC heralded the start of 1997 Asian financial meltdown, known as the “Tom Yum Kung” crisis.
In 2022, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court’s verdict, sentencing him to 335 years in prison for his crimes in connection with the BBC. The maximum jail term under Thai law is, however, 20 years.
Krirkkiat died of cancer in October 2012.
