Thai officials fired after nearly $60 mn found in personal bank accounts

Four Thai officials have been dismissed after authorities found more than two billion baht ($57 million) in their bank accounts, with investigators calling the group "unusually wealthy".Corruption is rife in the Southeast Asian kingdom, with officials often accused of accepting small bribes and pay-offs, but sums of this magnitude are rare.The approximately $57 million was discovered in multiple accounts held by three women and a man who work in the Revenue Department in Samut Prakhan province near the capital Bangkok.The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has referred the case to the attorney-general's office and requested that the Criminal Court for Corruption also investigate.The four were "unusually wealthy", said Sornchai Chuwichian, assistant secretary-general and deputy spokesperson of the NACC.Their listed assets -- including their bank deposits -- did not match their government incomes, Sornchai said in an NACC statement Monday.None could explain the source of the money, Sornchai said.The man, Danai Damrongchaiyothin, had 1.1 billion baht ($31 million) in seven accounts, while one of the women held more than 500 million baht ($14 million) in five accounts.A starting salary for a revenue official is less than $450 per month.All four have been dismissed from their government posts, according to the NACC statement. It did not mention whether they had been charged or arrested.