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Thai Prince's aircraft released on 20-million-euro bond

Jul 20, 2011, 11:23 GMT

Munich - A German court ruled Wednesday that Thailand's Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn could recover his Boeing 737, which was impounded more than a week ago, in return for a deposit of 20 million euros (28.5 million dollars).

The decision handed down by the district court in Landshut near Munich followed a statutory declaration from the director of civil aviation in Thailand that the aircraft belonged to the Crown Prince and not the Thai state, a court official said.

But only when the deposit was received by the court, possibly in the form of a bank guarantee, could the Prince with his aircraft leave Munich airport, the official said.

The court ordered the plane's seizure on Monday last week in a row between Walter Bau AG, an insolvent building company, and the Thai government.

Walter said the jet was Thai state property, and therefore a legitimate target for their attempts to recover outstanding dues.

In the 1990s, Walter Bau was part of a joint venture to construct a toll road near Bangkok.

But the company and the Thai government fell out over the toll fees to be levied.

As a result of this, Walter claimed the contractual obligations were not being met.

After years of negotiations, an international tribunal in Geneva awarded Walter Bau around 30 million euros in compensation, a payment the Thai government rejected.

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