While reading the various press details about business opponents in Thailand, it reminded me of a crash in 2004 where a wealthy buisnessman with Russian connections died after the A109 he was in burst into flames and crashed while approaching Bournemouth Airport in 2004. Even the local MP was sceptical about the crash findings at the time.
The coroner confirmed that he was aware of the death threats against the businessman Mr Curtis who was the CEO of Menatep which was owned by the Russian oil company Yukos. Mr Curtis died along with his pilot.
The coroner stated at the time - "that it had all the ingredients of an espionage thriller!” There was a mention of a Russian connection at the time of the crash.
https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/ne...icopter_crash/
Re the press reports about the Thai businessman having opponents in Thailand. I noted in the article shown below, it reveals that last month a Thai court threw out a
$430 million claim by the Airports of Thailand (AOT) regarding unpaid revenues by the Thai company King Power.
With the large amounts of involved, and the further mentions of opponents in Thailand, I wondered if anyone had a grudge against the chairman or his family?
https://www.today.ng/news/world/thai...y-owner-154035
More on the recent Thai court case.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/thailands...l?guccounter=1
Quote: "The license was secured from the state-owned Airports of Thailand (AOT) in 2006, after years of lobbying.
It gifts King Power the captive market of the near 40 million people expected to visit the country this year, many of whom trawl through its duty-free stores at Thailand's international airports or downtown mega-malls in Bangkok and Pattaya. Last month a court rejected an attempt to sue King Power for hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid revenue to AoT.
That case was a rare pot shot by King Power's enemies. But without the shield provided by Vichai, the family could be vulnerable to avaricious rivals and moves to break up their monopoly.
"King Power's most important business is based on a monopolistic concessionary right granted by the government," explained Pavida Pananond, an academic at Thammasat Business School told AFP.
"That suggests the political nature of the business and Khun (honorific) Vichai's political and business clout.”
Whether his successors "move away from the 'know-who' to the 'know-how'" of the business will define how they parry potential competition, she said."
Other commentators have also discussed the Thai opponents, and the vast amounts of money involved.
https://thaipoliticalprisoners.wordp...ag/king-power/
Maybe one for the intelligence services, as the pilot was very experienced, and the aircraft was only two years old..
