Buddhist monks pray for peace during a gathering at Victory Monument, as clashes between anti-government protestors and soldiers rage nearby, in Bangkok on May 16, 2010. At least 24 people have been killed and nearly 200 wounded Bangkok since May 14, after Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva last week shelved a plan to hold early elections because the protesters refused to end the rally.PORNCHAI KITTIWONGSAKUL
Financial transactions involving 106 bank or stock accounts associated with former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be halted if found to be linked to anti-government protesters, the National Security Council (NSC) said on Sunday.
The accounts and assets -- held by associates, family members and businesses linked to the exiled multi-millionaire -- will be monitored and frozen if found linked to the protest movement.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand, asset management, insurance firms and commercial banks are prohibited from facilitating any such transactions, Tawil Pliensri, secretary-general of the NSC said in a televised address.
The government says Thaksin, who is currently believed to be in Montenegro, evading a two-year jail term for graft, is the de facto leader and main financier of the red-shirted protesters occupying parts of Bangkok.