In one of the more bizarre stories of the day, an aircraft often flown by crown prince Vajiralongkorn of Thailand has seen impounded by authorities in Germany in a dispute over the construction of a motorway.

The Boeing 737 - often flown personally by Maha Vajiralongkorn, who is an experienced military pilot – was seized at Munich Airport late on Tuesday.

Werner Schneider, insolvency administrator for the Walter Bau construction firm, took the decision as a “last resort”, after struggling for years to recover funds it believes it is owed by the Thai government.

“The Thai government keeps playing for time and has not reacted to Schneider’s demands,” the company said in a statement.

“Even the involvement of the relevant departments of the German government proved fruitless.”

DYWIDAG

The details of the dispute date back over 20 years and centre on the involvement of DYWIDAG, which merged with Walter Bau in 2001, in the building of a motorway link between Bangkok and Don Muang airport.

After “numerous breaches of contract by the Thai government”, Walter Bau, by then insolvent, in 2007 claimed for damages.

The legality of this move was confirmed by a court in 2009, Schneider said.