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Criminal proceedings "could be launched" against the owner of Premier League side Leicester City after it was accused of "failing to pay" £323M ($423.1M) to the Thai government, according to Ben Rumsby of the London TELEGRAPH. The Central Criminal Court for Corruption & Misconduct Cases in Bangkok was on Monday considering a lawsuit brought against King Power Int'l, which is owned by billionaire Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. The suit, which accuses the duty-free retailer of "failing to pay that figure to the Thai government over the operation of the airport franchise it was granted" in '06, was filed in July. Srivaddhanaprabha founded King Power in '89 but it "really took off when it was granted an airport monopoly" under the government of then-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, the former owner of Man City. The family's empire also includes Belgian football club Oud-Heverlee Leuven, Accor's Pullman hotels in Thailand and a controlling stake in Asia Aviation, operator of low-cost carrier Thai AirAsia (
TELEGRAPH, 11/13). In London, Conn & Jirenuwat reported King Power said in July that if the case was brought to trial, it would be "vigorously defended." The judge accepted that the case "should proceed against 14 Airport of Thailand officials, three King Power companies and one company official" (
GUARDIAN, 11/13).
