German court seizes Crown Prince’s private Boeing
The Thai and German governments are at loggerheads over an impounded Boeing 737 airliner that belongs to Thailand’s Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn, the heir apparent to the throne.
A German court seized the plane as a result of a long-running dispute between the Thai government and a German construction company.
Administrators seized the aircraft subject to a 20-year-old debt of the Thai government to a now-defunct German construction corporation, Walter Bau, that has risen to some 30 million euros.
The German authorities, who currently administer the corporation’s interests in bankruptcy, said the move was aimed at forcing the Thai government to pay the compensation owed to the company.
The Nation newspaper reported that the German court in Munich decided last week to release the plane only after the Thai government paid a substantial deposit, but the government refused.
Walter Bau also brought the matter before the United States District Court, Southern District of New York, on March 26 last year, seeking enforcement of the award in the US.
The court ruled in favour of Walter Bau and the Thai government is in the process of appealing against the decision.
The Thai Foreign Ministry yesterday issued a statement expressing disappointment over Berlin’s actions and said that the dispute was between the Thai government and a private investor, and had no involvement with the Crown Prince and the seized aircraft – “which is his personal propertyâ€.
Ian Jarrett
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