Thai Crown Prince Vajiralongkorn's Plane Seized In Germany Over Payment Battle

BERLIN — A plane being used by Thailand's Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn has been impounded in Germany as part of a long-running battle with the Thai government over payments for a building project in Thailand, officials said Wednesday.

The Boeing 737 "Royal Flight" was seized on a court order, and is now being kept at Munich airport, said Robert Wilhelm, a spokesman for the airport.

Vajiralongkorn, the heir to the Thai throne, is an experienced pilot and a frequent visitor to Germany, putting him in the middle of a long-running business dispute between the two countries.

A spokesman for the bankruptcy administrator of German construction firm Walter Bau AG said the plane was seized Tuesday because of the Thai government's refusal to pay euro30 million ($42 million) it owes the company.

The Thai government owes the now-bankrupt builder the money under a contract agreed to more than 20 years ago to build and operate a toll highway to Bangkok's Don Muang airport, Alexander Goerbing said.

The "drastic measure" of seizing the Royal Thai Air Force's plane amounts to "the last resort" to secure the payment, a claim that courts and a ruling by an international arbitration panel in 2009 have declared legitimate, he added.

The Crown Prince regularly uses the state-owned plane, and the German bankruptcy administrator apparently had been working for some time to get it impounded.

Germany's Foreign Ministry said "we regret the inconveniences for the Crown Prince resulting from the impounding." The ministry did not elaborate.

Government planes usually have diplomatic status – making them mostly off-limit to the judiciary of foreign countries – but that only holds when they are traveling on official purpose, not private trips.

"The search for the plane was very complicated and of course had to be carried out in a discreet manner to avoid giving any warnings," the administrator, Werner Schneider, said in a statement.

Vajiralongkorn, 58, is the designated heir to the Thai throne, now held by his father, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is in poor health.

The 83-year-old is revered by most Thais for his dedication to public service, but Vajiralongkorn has not yet had a chance to earn the same level of respect. A qualified military pilot with the Air Force rank of Air Chief Marshal, in recent years he has also learned to pilot civilian craft. However, his personal life, which includes three marriages, is sometimes the subject of gossip.

Wilhelm, the Munich airport spokesman, said the Crown Prince had traveled to the southern German city aboard the Boeing 737, but there was no immediate word on his current whereabouts. The Thai embassy in Berlin could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Crown Prince's plane stood idle on the airport grounds Wednesday, with photos showing the court order "against the Kingdom of Thailand represented by the Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva" affixed to the plane's door, forbidding "any change, use or reduction of the (plane's) value."

In an unrelated case, Schneider's office in 2005 used a court order to impound a plane.

Comments

[Chaoyang Beasley]

08:52 PM on 07/28/2011

Because international courts long ago ruled that the state of Thailand owes the money, the administrator for the bankruptcy of Walter Bau was able to get a court order to seize assets of Thailand.
There are some interesting aspects of this case:
* The crown prince is flying around in a $20 million aircraft that appears to have been given to him or lent to him by the air force of Thailand, presumably paid for by the people of Thailand. How is this if there is separation of monarchy and state as required by the Thai constitution? In short, neither the king nor his son "owns" Thailand.
* The prince reportedly spends some 75 percent of his time in Germany at spas for health reasons -- said to be a "blood disorder" in Wikileaks cables from the US embassy.
More on Thai royal family:
http://chaoyangnow.wordpress.com/the-great-oz-king-of-thailand/

[taspa]

09:43 AM on 07/14/2011

Ah Germany does it again, first with the cucumbers and Spain now with the Royal plane and Thailand. How many friends does Germany thinks it really has? Judging from late EU comments on Greece: obviously not a lot, and if it budges on stubbornly, well it's going to have less.

Yeah this is strong arming, in diplomacy you don't go impounding VIP planes whether it's Airforce One or Sheikh of Qatar. It's delicate matters. Also it looks very suspicious to go after a Royal aircraft instead of Thai Airways which fly often and a lot to Germany and it is a national airline. Guess the uptight impounders are too scared the passengers could otherwise sue. Also looks like Germany is not neutral to internal Thai politics in going after this plane. This is not helpful in showing that Germany is "the EU leader" with a positive role in international politics or with a respectable role in Asia. Not to mention now that it's even harder they will pay up. In Asia there is a thing called "keeping face" culture, it's the way it is and it is everywhere from China to the Philippines, if German authorities don't know it by now, your businessmen in Asia can offer advice. Good luck Merkel's Germany, you are going to need it as not only will they likely not pay (read above) you might have just added another name to the list of countries that you have managed to step their toes.

[SPQR1775]

05:57 AM on 07/14/2011

The EU nations always trying to strong arm other nations....LOL, Germany is full of it. So now it seems that the debt courts are back across the world and the common nations or folks have NO RECOURSE because the courts are stacked with corporate selected judges!

[Tony Sanchez]

12:57 AM on 07/14/2011

Now if the Germans can make that Thai stick.

[NoSillyName]

01:59 PM on 07/16/2011

lol.

[songoftherushes]

12:12 AM on 07/14/2011

The Prince was quoted as saying, "Oh great, NOW how am I supposed to get home? Coach? What is coach?"

Aide: (in the Prince's ear) Whisper whisper.

Prince: "NOOOOooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!"

[Jim Michael]

06:33 PM on 07/13/2011

'tis a puzzlement!

[John E Priegnitz]

04:49 PM on 07/13/2011

I wonder if China will seize Air Force One someday, lol.

[palefeet]

06:38 PM on 07/13/2011

LOL ...its coming!

[songoftherushes]

12:08 AM on 07/14/2011

With the president still inside (ransom).

[Richard Bartholomew]

04:51 AM on 07/19/2011

The Chinese know better than to end up like the kidnappers in "Ruthless People", wherein Danny DeVito consistently refuses to the pay the crooks' ever-decreasing ransom demands to get his wife back. The Chinese would just end up paying the U.S. to take back whoever might be president at the time.

[garystartswithg]

03:20 PM on 07/13/2011

Does Thai royalty carry around the official Thai checkbook? Seems like a bit of grandstanding on Germany's part, and i don't think East Asians will care for it much. This sure isn't going to ease centuries of distrust.

[Michael GE]

09:31 PM on 07/13/2011

I do not know. But my initial reaction (knowing a little bit about our German laws) is this: When they made that move it seems they were pretty sure that at least 2 obstacles were overcome:
A) the plane really does belong beyond doubt to the party (Thai government or Thai royalty) who actually signed the contract.
B) there was no diplomatic situation involved (means, they would not have seized the plane if the prince (or some other Thai official) had arrived with it on a diplomatic mission/ visit.

[MyNinja]

02:48 PM on 07/13/2011

"and is now immobilized and sealed at the airport."
I didn't know you could put a tire boot on an airplane...

[crankyCrackPot]

02:42 PM on 07/13/2011

I'd also open a special debtor prison just for his royal behind!

[dream9]

05:04 PM on 07/13/2011

Yeah, it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. The plane may technically not belong to the Thai government, but Thailand's embassies in more than a couple of countries have had to cover the Prince's unpaid personal debts on several occasions, so too bad for him. And when they have done that they had to keep it off the books, making them look bad instead of him. Trust me, I know about this.

[crankyCrackPot]

02:42 PM on 07/13/2011

20 years is a lot of compound interest and penalties.
Good for Germany!
Guess royal poop does smell after all.

[sfizi]

01:53 PM on 07/13/2011

The repo man got you , pay up or walk

[abuckley23]

01:47 PM on 07/13/2011

Poor guy, I know how he feels. I hate when my personal plane gets seized!

[Jack Daniels Esq]

01:45 PM on 07/13/2011

No statute of limitations on German debt - must have taken judgement a long time ago

[Michael GE]

09:26 PM on 07/13/2011

There is a statute of limitations in our law, sure. But a judicial verdict remains valid - unless you start the proper procedures under the law to file for default. Admittingly, this one is an extreme case: On behalf a company which defaulted and is no longer existant the plane was taken into custody.
I do not remember the case behind it, but given alone the timeline it's fair to assume that the public sector had expenses because of the company's default. And the memory of our public sector is long. :)

[Jack Daniels Esq]

02:57 AM on 07/14/2011

Did he fly home in coach ? Or did they risk another ?
The Royals can easily replace it given the $20m debt
Maybe Thaksin will donate his used Gulfstream - lol

[KMBerger]

01:39 PM on 07/13/2011

Now, this must be a royal embarrassment for the Thai Government. And to think this is on a debt owed for 20 years? Wow!