Administrative Court urged to halt BEM debt-swapA leading consumer rights advocacy group along with the labour union of the Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat) on Monday petitioned the Administrative Court against the cabinet's endorsement of Exat's controversial 58.8-billion-baht debt-swap deal with Bangkok Expressway and Metro Plc (BEM). Saree Aungsomwang, secretary-general of the Foundation for Consumers, who led the move, said that the cabinet's Feb 18 resolution to approve the debt-swap deal went against the constitution. The cabinet on Feb 18 approved the controversial 58.8-billion-baht debt-swap deal in exchange for BEM agreeing to drop all 17 legal cases filed against Exat. Ms Saree also accused the cabinet of basing its decision on "imagined" future losses should Exat have lost all its court battles with BEM. The Bangkok Post yesterday tried to contact Exat for comment on the latest development but had received no comment by press time.

Source: Bangkok Post March 02, 2020 20:37 UTC