Thaksin Shinawatra, the former Thai prime minister ousted in last year’s coup, has bought a 27 million US dollar luxury house in Hong Kong, The Standard newspaper reported Wednesday.
The sale of the luxury townhouse on Hong Kong’s prestigious Victoria Peak raised eyebrows earlier this year because the 210 million Hong Kong dollar price tag made it Asia’s most expensive property per square foot.
The high price surprised many because the 5,100 square foot (475 square metre) property is attached to other houses in the same development, making it less desirable than a detached property.
The house boasts panoramic views over Hong Kong’s famous harbour, its own swimming pool and a state-of-the-art security system.
The identity of the buyer was not revealed at the time of the sale, with local media describing the new owner only as a businessman.
But The Standard said a source close to the deal had identified the mystery purchaser as the former Thai premier and self-made billionaire.
Thaksin has been in exile since the September 2006 coup, and has divided his time between London, where he has a home, and Asia. He was recently spotted shopping with his wife in Hong Kong.
Thai authorities recently froze 1.5 billion dollars of his assets, although the order only affected banks in Thailand, and Thaksin’s overseas assets are largely unknown.
Thaksin’s lawyer said recently that the deposed premier was thinking about returning to Thailand for the first time since the September 2006 coup to fight corruption charges against him.
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