Courts of Justice spokesman Sitthisak Wanachakij told reporters that in fact there have been no bribes offered in the cases under the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions.

He believed the report of such bribes were only rumours intended to raise suspicion and to bring into question the fairness of the court ruling when it delivers whatever verdict it issues on Friday, that is whether the Bt76.6 billion in frozen assets belonging to Mr Thaksin and his family should be seized by the state or not. The ex-premier is accused of accumulating the assets by abusing his power while prime minister.

Mr Thaksin was ousted from power in a bloodless coup in September 2006.

Mr Sitthisak said that if any bribe was accepted, the Thai authorities could trace it to its source by checking the money transfer route.

He affirmed that to date no judges have reported attempted bribe offers.

Mr Sitthisak’s comments came after a New Politics Party spokesman claimed that there was talk among some judges that five of the nine Supreme Court judges in the Thaksin assets case have been offered bribes of one billion baht (US$30 million) each, or five billion baht ($150 million) overall.

Asked whether the judges would bar people from commenting on the case, the spokesman said the court did not want to create any unnecessary condition.

He said that the comments on the case were speculation, but the expression of such views should be done with discretion as it could be considered contempt of court and lead to prosecution. (TNA)