Royal jet released Published: 20/07/2011 at 07:27 PM Online news: Local News
A German court ordered Wednesday the release of the impounded jet belonging to HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn.
The court demanded a hefty bank guarantee which allows the end of the episode.
The Boeing 737 was seized at Munich airport in southern Germany last week when a judge ordered it be sealed at the demand of a lawyer for an insolvent German construction firm which has long been demanding money from the Thai government over the construction of the Don Muang Tollway.
A court in nearby Landshut said Wednesday it had received an assurance under oath from the director-general of Thailand's Department of Civil Aviation that the plane belonged to the prince, not the Thai state, based on a 2007 registration certificate.
The vice president of the court, Christoph Fellner, said however that since these documents provided only a "presumption of ownership," 20 million euros ($28.2 million, 848 million baht) had to be deposited in the form of a bank guarantee.
"No guarantee means no take-off," he said. "If everything goes well ... and we establish that the aircraft really belongs to (His Royal Highness), than he will get the bank guarantee back."
The guarantee was set at that level because that was estimated to be the value of the plane, which the court recognised is often piloted by the Crown Prince himself, said Mr Fellner.