Liquidator seizes Royal Thai Air Force plane in Munich

[20milesout]

The liquidator of the former German construction company Walter Bau is in a multi-million dollar dispute with Thailand. To increase the pressure he seized a plane in spectacular action at Munich airport and a spokesman for the Augsburg auditor Werner Schneider confirmed this to Financial Times Germany.
An international arbitration court in Geneva in mid-2009 confirmed the requirement for Thailand to pay and Thailand still has not paid. Therefore, the seizure of the aircraft is being used as leverage. The liquidator had to be very discreet in action so the pilot of the plane was not warned.
Liquidator seizes Royal Thai Air Force plane in Munich | Asian Correspondent (http://asiancorrespondent.com/59871/royal-thai-air-force-plane-seized-in-munich/)

Story in German:
Zoff mit Thailand: Augsburger Insolvenzverwalter pfändet Kronprinzen-Boeing | FTD.de (http://www.ftd.de/unternehmen/industrie/:zoff-mit-thailand-augsburger-insolvenzverwalter-pfaendet-kronprinzen-boeing/60077916.html)

Pictures:
Rabiater Insolvenzverwalter: Und plötzlich ist der Flieger weg - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten - Wirtschaft (http://www.spiegel.de/fotostrecke/fotostrecke-70373.html)

[Al Fakhem]

The prince has no clothes....mmmh, no plane :eek:

[hetfield]

Coole Aktion...:ok:

[lomapaseo]

Something dreadfully wrong in contract law here vs exposure of a publicly owned property to seizure.

Could the US Airforce 1 be seized the same way?

[Al Fakhem]

lompaseo:

In Germany, the sheriff only requires a court order enforceable in Germany to seize property belonging to the debtor.

This case is about unpaid invoices relating to a Bangkok expressway project, with work undertaken by a German construction company.

In any case, it's interesting to see that even one of the world's richest families (the Thai royal family, who spend much time and money prosecuting anyone who reports on their vast financial interests) have now been successfully targeted by a creditor.

[hetfield]

2005 Schneider seized a Middle East Airways Jet in Istanbul due to an unpaid Multi Million Dollar bill also for Walter.

[surplus1]

Could the US Airforce 1 be seized the same way?

It appears that according to German law the answer might be yes.

The question is would the Germans have the guts to attempt that, or do they just take advantage of small countries?

[DenisG]

There is no sheriff in Germany. In order to seize an asset, one needs a valid court title, which means that the case has already been ruled in first level of jurisdiction. The creditor can then enquire to execute the claim and the court's marshal will then according to the court title proceed with seizure. However, in order to execute a seizure, the creditor must deposit the claim's value at court in order to cover possible costs of execution. Especially the last part is a very big barrier to proceeding claims in Germany. Since it has been ruled by the arbitrary court in Geneva, there must have occurred a pretty long run-up in order to transform the international ruling into German law. Due to the (automatic) court processes, a political influence appears rather difficult, although I would not rule it out.

[what next]

The question is would the Germans have the guts to attempt that, or do they just take advantage of small countries?

Get a german company to build a 30 million Euro Freeway in the US, don't pay for it and see what happens :ouch: "The Germans" have in the past (unsuccessfully, because the pilots were quicker) attempted to seize Russian aircraft, so obviously are not afraid of big countries.

[flugholm]

>(unsuccessfully, because the pilots were quicker)

Not always. I remember a Tu 154 being parked for a rather long time at a North German airport -- until a few month's landing fees were finally paid.

[ross_M]

What would make the situation more fun is if Thailand now responded by borrowing a few Lufthansa birds.

Wikipedia says:


Royal Thai Armed Forces; 300,000 active personnel
German Military = 220,000

[Al Fakhem]

Denis:

You might not be aware of the meaning of sheriff. In Australia, Ireland and Canada, it means "bailiff", which translates exactly to "Gerichtsvollzieher" in Germany.

[goldeneaglepilot]

Just found this on Google, don't know if its true or not... If it is then there will be rough water ahead between Germany and Thailand.

The personal Boeing 737 of Thai Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn has been impounded at Munich airport by liquidators trying to recover debts owed to collapsed German construction conglomerate Walter Bau AG. The plane was seized due to a financial claim against the Thai state – and specifically the Department of Highways – and does not involve a personal debt owed by the crown prince. However, liquidators for the German firm impounded the plane on Tuesday in an aggressive move to embarrass Thailand into paying up.
The debt relates to Walter Bau’s 10 percent stake in the Don Muang Tollway Co, which built and operated the elevated highway from central Bangok to the Thai capital’s old international airport. Walter Bau went bankrupt in 2005 and liquidators trying to recover funds for the firm’s creditors pursued a claim against Thailand for changing terms of the contract to build the highway and for refusing to allow increases in the toll payable by vehicles using the road, which rendered the project unprofitable. In 2009, an international arbitration tribunal ordered Thailand to pay 29.2 million euros compensation plus 1.98 million euros in partial costs for breaching the contract: the full decision, and the tortured history of the troubled Don Muang Tollway project can be read here. (http://italaw.com/documents/WalterBauThailandAward.pdf); it’s an all-too-familiar saga of official incompetence and corruption. The arbitration panel found in particular that a toll reduction announced by former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra in 2004 breached the terms of the agreement with Walter Bau. When the tribunal decision was announced, then-Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva said the Thai government did not accept it, and vowed to fight it (http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/07/29/business/business_30108581.php) by doing what Thai politicians almost always do when faced with a problem – setting up a committee to bury the issue in interminable bureaucracy. Transport Minister Sophon Zarum accused the German company of “dirty tricks (http://www.bangkokpost.com/auto/autoscoop/29945/)“.
With the compensation ordered by the tribunal still unpaid, Augsburg auditor Werner Schneider, who is the insolvency administrator for Walter Bau, decided to seek the seizure of the plane to use as leverage to force Thailand to come up with the money. His spokesman has confirmed the plane has been impounded; a report on the story can also be found on the Financial Times Deutschland (http://www.ftd.de/unternehmen/industrie/:zoff-mit-thailand-augsburger-insolvenzverwalter-pfaendet-kronprinzen-boeing/60077916.html) website. The Financial Times says the seizure of the plane had to be planned carefully as the prince had flown around a variety of German airports in recent weeks including Dresden, Saarbrücken, Nuremberg and Berlin-Tegel; it adds that Vajiralongkorn recently visited a Dresden porcelain factory with an entourage of 40 people. He was not warned in advance about the seizure of the plane. the Financial Times reports.
As Eric G. John, former U.S. ambassador to Thailand , wrote in a secret diplomatic cable (http://www.zenjournalist.com/2011/06/09bangkok2967/) in November 2009, Vajiralongkorn spends most of his time in Germany:
Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn has spent most (up to 75%) of the past two years based in Europe (primarily at a villa at a medicinal spa 20km outside of Munich), with his leading mistress and beloved white poodle Fufu. Vajiralongkorn is believed to be suffering from a blood-related medical condition… His current (third) wife Srirasmi and 4 year old son… known as Ong Ti, reside in his Sukhothai Palace in Bangkok, but when Vajiralongkorn travels back to Bangkok, he stays with his second mistress in the retrofitted Air Force VIP lounge at Wing Six, Don Muang Airport (note: both mistresses are Thai Airways stewardesses; the Crown Prince has shifted from flying F5s to Thai Airways Boeings and Airbuses in recent years. End note). Long known for violent and unpredictable mood swings, the Crown Prince has few people who have stayed long in his inner circle.
The prince pilots his personal 737 in his trips between Thailand and Germany: it appears regularly on planespotter websites (http://www.airliners.net/search/photo.search?regsearch=HS-CMV).
Given Vajiralongkorn’s reputation for violent rages, it is likely that Thai and German officials are scrambling to resolve the situation. The prince has a history of diplomatic disasters. In September 1987, he made a state visit to Japan. Ahead of the trip, he demanded that his then-mistress accompany him in an official capacity instead of his wife; the Japanese refused for reasons of protocol. Once he arrived, things went from bad to worse, as Barbara Crosette reported (http://www.nytimes.com/1987/12/15/world/bangkok-journal-once-upon-a-time-a-good-king-had-4-children.html?pagewanted=all&src=pm) in the New York Times:
A diplomatic storm blew up between Tokyo and Bangkok over what Thai-language newspapers reported as ”slights” to the Crown Prince, a pilot and army major general who commands his own regiment, during an official visit to Japan.
A Japanese chauffeur driving the Thai Prince’s car apparently stopped at a motorway tollbooth to relieve himself – Japanese officials say the man felt ill and had to be replaced. On other occasions, the Prince was said to have been given an inappropriate chair to sit on and to have been forced to reach down to the floor to pick up a cord to unveil a memorial. The prince came home three days earlier than scheduled, leaving a diplomatic crisis in his wake.
The prince got his revenge nine years later, in 1996, as Paul Handley writes in The King Never Smiles (http://books.google.com/books/about/The_king_never_smiles.html?id=nDspKDZkgcQC), his pioneering academic biography of Thailand’s King Bhumibol Adulyadej:
On March 1-2, Thailand hosted the leaders of Asian and European nations for an inaugural summit meeting. It was a great status-booster for Thailand, and the king put on a grand reception for visiting presidents and premiers. The prince gave Japanese prime minister Ryutaro Hashimoto another kind of welcome. When Hashimoto’s Boeing 747 landed at Don Muang airport on February 28, before it reached the red carpet for disembarkation, the jet was blocked very publicly by three F-5 fighter jets led by the crown prince himself. Photographers at the arrival point were forced to put down their cameras as the prince held the Japanese delegation hostage on the tarmac for twenty minutes before breaking away. The prince was apparently avenging his alleged mistreatment on his Japan visit in 1987. As then, the Thai and Japanese governments were both hugely embarrassed, and the Japanese diplomatically let the incident stand without protest or comment.

[Rengineer]

@ross_M: Royal Thai Armed Forces; 300,000 active personnel
Bit of a long march from Bangkok.

Anyway, the whole thing is probably more of a stunt to shame the Thais into paying up. The plane, according to Flight International, has a current value of around 6M€, a fraction of the sum being sought.

@surplus1: Try it at your own risk. :E

[compton3bravo]

Surplus1 - Why do you think the US is any different to any other country - oh sorry it is the United States silly me - trouble is you think you can do what you like - not any more chum!

[zondaracer]

Lomapaseo, Air Force 1 (VC-25), I guess in theory could be seized that way, but since it is paid for, I don´t think it is an issue. Also, the USAF VC-25s are protected by armed security when parked abroad, so an aircraft repo guy may be risking his life.

[Rengineer]

@golden eagle: So this prince has a wife, two mistresses, and a bitch? Some people...:oh:

[funnybone]

As I understand it assets belonging to the Royal family is not considered to be public so on what grounds is the German court holding personal assets?

Repurcussions on Germany? Maybe they forget that aircraft bought from EU for commercial purposes provides much more benefit to the EU than a few million Euros in debt. So if there should be an order to halt orders of Airbus aircraft>>>well, let Airbus deal with that....:rolleyes:

BTW, the lettering on the side of the aircraft clearly states who the aircraft belongs to and no where does it say Royal Air Force. Maybe someone mis-read the lettering.

UMMMMM I sure hope that the German people will one day also rise up to their government to ask what has happened to their tax money dumped into Greece and other European nations so where's the claim to the inevitable hair cut on the amount of debt given to these countries? :ugh:

[hetfield]

I sure hope that the German people will one day also rise up to their government to ask what has happened to their tax money dumped into Greece and other European nations so where's the claim to the inevitable hair cut on the amount of debt given to these countries?It's not about politics.

A company, or what's left over, wants its money.

That's it.

[surplus1]

Surplus1 - Why do you think the US is any different to any other country - oh sorry it is the United States silly me - trouble is you think you can do what you like - not any more chum!

Mine is not an attitude of arrogance, friend, just common sense. The question I responded to related to the seziure of Air Force One - the official aircraft of the President of the United States. That's quite different from a run-of-the-mill US-owned aircraft.

I say again, I do not think any component of German authorities would have the guts to attempt to seize Air Force One, or even Hillary Clinton's official aircraft. Likewise, I do not think they would have the guts to attempt to seize Vladirmir Putin's official aircraft, or Prince Charles' official aircraft, or Hu Jintao's official aircraft, or Sarkozy's official aircraft, as examples, because any one of those countries owed money to a German construction firm.

The aircraft in question apparently belongs to the Crown Prince of Thailand. That is quite different from other Thai-owned aircraft. It's a diplomatic faux pas of the first order and warrants an official apology from the German Chancellor, IMO.

No, I do not think that the US can "do what it likes", and I never have. I also do not think that Germany can do what it likes.

Use your head, sir. Y calmase, vos.

[MidlandDeltic]

UMMMMM I sure hope that the German people will one day also rise up to their government to ask what has happened to their tax money dumped into Greece and other European nations so where's the claim to the inevitable hair cut on the amount of debt given to these countries? :ugh:

The money spent by German tax payers is going via various routes back to the German banks that lent it in the first place - hence the reluctance of the ECB to give the bondholders a haircut (on the basis that they made risky "investments"). The German industrial sector will also benefit hugely by getting their hands on Greek (and Portuguese, Irish, Spanish and Italian, in due course) infrastructure assets such as railways, airports, toll roads etc which the EU/IMF will force these countries to sell at knock down rates.

MD

[hetfield]

I'm afraid it's getting funny here.

A fooled company wants the money for an undaubtful job, simple.

The question is, is the Thai Prince the correct address......

[Spunky Monkey]

It would appear to me to be a diplomatic Faux Pas...The Prince may be a bit of a legend in his own pants, but as a leader (in a loose sense of the word) it would be frowned upon it take is aircraft.

Although flying around Europe over the last couple of years there are several aircraft large and small that have been "impounded." For so long the ramp area they sit on is several inches lower than the surrounding tarmac, due to the resurfacing going on around it. The tarmac will eventually become a record to the history of the aircraft, the depth of the tarmac...like the rings of a tree.

I remember a tired looking gulfstream being impounded at Luton until about 18 months ago. It belonged to some African leader / murderer.

I am not saying its right impounding the aircraft, but some of these so called "diplomats and royals" should be refused access to the rest of the world. If they want to act like playboys, they can do it on the cornice in Al Khobar or down town Doha, not act like untouchable fags from an over privileged half-wit club.

[dl1812]

So how did the Prince and his entourage get back Home ? - or did I miss something ?

[20milesout]

"So how did the Prince and his entourage get back Home ? - or did I miss something ?"

Nobody really knows yet. Maybe he´ll spend some more days in the spa, it´s just around the corner. Or fly Lufthansa, which isn´t that bad.

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg803/scaled.php?server=803&filename=zwischenablage01x.jpg&res=medium
Sealed.
Photo: Financial Times Deutschland

[virginblue]

Court: judicial branch
Foreign Office: executive branch

= division of powers

For a court, a debtor is a debtor is a debtor.

And why should a government debtor be in a better position than any other debtor? You order a highway, you pay for it. If you do not pay, the other guy will be chasing your assets. The Thai defense at the moment is that the aircraft is not owned by the government, but by the Crown Prince himself. If they can prove this, the bird will be off the hook. If not - the media are already analyzing if a not exactly factory fresh Boeing 737-400 will be worth 30m quid when auctioned off (it certainly won't).

[TBSC]

Royal Thai Armed Forces; 300,000 active personnel
German Military = 220,000


With these numbers the result would be Thailand occupied by germans in a blink of an eye. ;)

[20milesout]

TBSC wrote:
"With these numbers the result would be Thailand occupied by germans in a blink of an eye."

I´m afraid, yes... :ouch:

"Thai prince plane affair in hands of German justice: Berlin (AFP)
BERLIN — Thailand's foreign minister flew into Berlin Friday for talks on the impounding of an aircraft owned by the Thai crown, but the German government insisted that it was a matter for the courts.
Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya met with German foreign undersecretary Cornelia Pieper to discuss the matter, foreign ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer told reporters.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle is currently visiting Mexico.
Before the Thai minister's arrival however, he said the government could not comment on the affair "because we respect the independence of the judicial authorities" handling the case.
On Tuesday, German officials sealed a Boeing 737 often flown by the heir to the Thai throne Maha Vajiralongkorn, and banned it from taking off, Munich airport said. The move came because of a long-running business dispute.
"Legally, this is a huge mistake," Kasit told reporters in Bangkok before leaving for Europe. In Thailand the royal family is a revered institution.
In talks in Berlin, Pieper regretted "the inconvenience caused to the crown prince by this seizure."
But she reiterated Westerwelle's position that the matter was in the hands of the German courts.
In a statement the two ministers agreed that the matter should not harm bilateral relations.
Werner Schneider, insolvency administrator for the Walter Bau firm, said the seizure followed repeated refusals by the Thai government to pay money it says it is owed.
"We have been trying for years ... to have our justified demands for more than 30 million euros ($42 million) met, and this drastic measure is basically the last resort," Schneider's firm said in a statement.
"The Thai government keeps playing for time and has not reacted to Schneider's demands. Even the involvement of the relevant departments of the German government proved fruitless."
The dispute goes back more than 20 years to the involvement of DYWIDAG, which merged with Walter Bau in 2001, in building a motorway link between Bangkok and Don Muang airport.
After "numerous breaches of contract by the Thai government", Walter Bau, by then insolvent, in 2007 claimed for damages. A court ruled in his favour in 2009, Schneider said.
Kasit, speaking in Bangkok said Thailand wanted "the German court to act on our request revoke the seizure immediately."
He added that the plane belonged to the crown prince, not the government.
"If this takes too long it might affect the feelings of Thai people towards German people and the country because this is related to the monarchy," he warned.
Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved."

[Al Fakhem]

Strings amounting to €20 mio, to be exact.

Nach Pfändung: Der Thai-Prinz darf seine Boeing wiederhaben - Ausland - FOCUS Online - Nachrichten (http://www.focus.de/politik/ausland/nach-pfaendung-der-thai-prinz-darf-seine-boeing-wiederhaben_aid_647546.html)

[Phil Space]

Very clever move on the part of the liquidator.

The Thai government have strung this case out for years to thwart efforts to satisfy the courts ruling on the debt. There is no intention to pay.

However when the Royal Jet (which sports Royal Thai Airforce livery) was seized the Thai's thought they could do the usual thing and send the foreign minister to influence the politicians to dictate to the German courts in much the same way as things are done in Thailand. They do not understand 'separation of powers' where the courts are not influenced by politicians. So when the Germans said we cannot the next move was to issue new paperwork to claim the aircraft belongs to the Thai Prince. Worth about as much as a fake degree bought from a tourist stall in downtown Bangkok.

The court now wants the cash bond and I can tell you a certain Thai royal is going to go ballistic with the minions back home.

Loss of face is as big as money in Thai circles. That piece of A4 stuck to the door will cause more ructions than any money. Mr O as he is known will be demanding action and quick.

Read this to get a true picture of how this will unfold.
The impounded Thai aircraft and lessons from the Thai media | Asian Correspondent (http://asiancorrespondent.com/60414/the-impounded-thai-aircraft-and-lessons-from-the-thai-media/)
http://asiancorrespondent.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/ThailandRoyalPlane2-621x249.jpg

[Phil Space]

The Over Privileged Half-Wit Club
It would appear to me to be a diplomatic Faux Pas...The Prince may be a bit of a legend in his own pants, but as a leader (in a loose sense of the word) it would be frowned upon it take is aircraft.

Although flying around Europe over the last couple of years there are several aircraft large and small that have been "impounded." For so long the ramp area they sit on is several inches lower than the surrounding tarmac, due to the resurfacing going on around it. The tarmac will eventually become a record to the history of the aircraft, the depth of the tarmac...like the rings of a tree.
I remember a tired looking gulfstream being impounded at Luton until about 18 months ago. It belonged to some African leader / murderer.
I am not saying its right impounding the aircraft, but some of these so called "diplomats and royals" should be refused access to the rest of the world. If they want to act like playboys, they can do it on the cornice in Al Khobar or down town Doha, not act like untouchable fags from an over privileged half-wit club.

Indulged by our western leaders and governments Spunky Monkey!

[Al Fakhem]

Vajiralongkorn still without his toy:

Tauziehen mit Thailand: Prinzen-Jet bleibt doch am Boden - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten - Wirtschaft (http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/soziales/0,1518,776547,00.html)

Nobody seems interested in putting up the €20m surety bond......

[Al Fakhem]

Apparently embarrassed by the Crown Prince's publicly stated offer to pay the surety of €20m himself, the Thai government has been propelled into action. Officially, the line is that they do not wish to bother the Crown Prince with such a trifle matter.

The Thai Attorney General has now announced a visit to Germany to negotiate a settlement of the outstanding amount due to now-defunct Walter Bau AG, which - when paid - will enable the release of Vijaralongkorn's toy.



Gepfändete Boeing: Thailand will Jet-Affäre lösen - SPIEGEL ONLINE - Nachrichten - Wirtschaft (http://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/soziales/0,1518,778072,00.html)