The heat is on. Pete
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BANGKOK (AFP) - The head of Thailand's new junta-appointed anti-corruption panel threatened to confiscate the assets of overthrown premier Thaksin Shinawatra if he tried to move them overseas.
The warning came as Thaksin's wife left Thailand in the early hours to be reunited with her husband in London, where he took refuge after tanks rolled into the Thai capital last Tuesday.
Pojaman Shinawatra -- widely believed to have exerted great influence over his activities -- flew out just two hours after the generals announced their latest corruption probe.
"As of now, there have been no assets confiscated," said Sawat Chotipanich, head of a high-powered committee set up by the military late Sunday to probe the books and tax records of Thaksin cabinet members and their relatives.
"But if there is evidence proving that the suspects are trying to move or transfer assets before a court ruling, we will seek court approval to seize their assets," he added Monday.
"If my committee finds any corruption among former ministers, the committee will prosecute them immediately," he said, adding also that it was authorised to seize Thaksin's assets if necessary.
He spoke after meeting with Thailand's auditor general Jaruvan Maintaka to map out plans for a wide-ranging investigation into corruption claims.
Junta leader General Sonthi Boonyaratglin last week justified the nation's first coup in 15 years by accusing Thaksin of corruption and of insulting the Buddhist country's revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
Much of the billionaire politician's wealth is held by Pojaman Shinawatra and their three children.
Thaksin, a former telecoms tycoon whose wealth was recently estimated at more than two billion dollars by Forbes magazine, has a residence in London, and his daughter stays there.
Meanwhile officials denied he had left Thailand ahead of the coup with an "unusual" amount of baggage, after reports he may have whisked cash out.
Thaksin left for a series of foreign engagements 10 days before his ouster while a later flight from Bangkok brought officials for a summit in Cuba that picked him up on the way.
Foreign media reports had suggested the two aircraft carried more than 100 items of luggage, hinting Thaksin may have packed them with some of his vast fortune.
But Group Captain Montol Suchookorn, a Royal Thai Air Force spokesman, told AFP that "both flights took off from the military airport and the amount of luggage was not unusual."
Three bodies are now probing corruption allegations against Thaksin.
As well as the committee set up late Sunday, they are the auditor general's office with widened powers and a new, nine-member National Counter-Corruption Commission.
Jaruvan Maintaka, has said she hopes soon to conclude an investigation into the sale of bomb scanners for Bangkok's new three-billion-dollar Suvarnabhumi airport, which is due to open Thursday.
She said she would then tackle nine other cases of alleged irregularities, including claims involving an airport train link project, lottery revenues and tsunami aid.
Another key focus will be Thaksin's tax-free January sale of his family's telecom empire to a Singapore state company for 1.9 billion dollars, sparking the months of turmoil that led up to the coup.
The deputy leader of his Thai Rak Thai party and ex-agriculture minister, Sudarat Keyuraphan, returned from Europe on Sunday, saying she would cooperate with a probe into her wealth, according to Thai newspaper reports.
Sonthi, who has been endorsed as interim leader by the king, has vowed to steer Thailand back toward democracy with the aim of elections in October next year.
The junta has pledged to install a new civilian prime minister within two weeks of the September 19 coup. Military sources at the weekend said it could be as early as Wednesday.
Since taking power, the generals have banned public gatherings and placed media limits, enforced by armed guards in some television stations, as well as assuming legislative powers and dismissing parliament, the top courts and the cabinet.
It has also sought to head off any opposition by denying it is scrapping a hugely popular multi-million dollar rural loan scheme set up by Thaksin.