Pattaya Today 1
Vol. 9 No. 12 1 - 15 March 2010
Volume 9, Issue 12
1 - 15 March 2010
Does Ex PM Thaksin get his Just Desserts In a compromise solution, Thailand’s top judges of the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions ruled that Thaksin must forfeit more than half of his considerable fortune, which they asserted were “ill-gotten”, gained by Thaksin through weaving an intricate web of deceit and by abusing his prime-ministerial power to serve familial interests and those of his acolytes. The Supreme Court seized Bt 46.37 billion of Thaksin’s assets, frozen on his ouster from power after the 2006 military coup, leaving him
with a mere Bt30.24 billion! Thaksin’s acolytes assert that he is being selectively targeted by his political opponents, but they, for their
Mr. Thaksin had 46 of his 76 Billion Baht seized
Red Shirts did burn a spirit house in a rally at Sanam Luang
part, regard the verdict as karmic returns and that he has got his just desserts. In the most controversial anti-corruption case ever to come before the Thai courts, Thaksin was accused of issuing executive decrees granting his Shin Corporation, considerable ‘tax breaks and tax holidays’, so reducing the revenue it shared with the state
for its telecommunications concessions. The court also ruled that Thaksin was in violation of Thai law by remaining in control of the Shin Corporation whilst serving as Prime Minister. This was achieved by using family members and other individuals as nominees and transferring shares in an intricate web of deals through offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands and other tax havens. He finally sold Shin Corporation to Temasek Holdings of Singapore in early 2006 for Bt62.75 billion/US$1.9 billion. Thaksin is also accused of unfairly promoting a Bt4,194 million/$127 million low-interest loan to Burma to benefit a satellite communications company also controlled by the Thaksin family.
25 BAHT
Thaksin now maintains he only has Bt6,606 million/ US$200 million of his fortune remaining in liquid assets, (not including the unknown amount of money he has stashed overseas, which wasn’t mentioned). He stoically told his supporters that they, like him, must accept the court’s ruling, that his family and himself will just be able to cope. The mass riots widely predicted by the local media didn’t occur, though the Red Shirts did burn a spirit house in a rally at Sanam Luang near the Supreme Court buildings, and they issued an ominous warning that they will definitely violently overthrow Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva’s government on March 14. Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban is optimistically confident that political tensions will diminish somewhat, but, just in case Thaksin’s Red Shirts decide on belated action, a vast force of 20 companies of military and police will maintain their ring-of-steel around Bangkok, as well as provincial governors and regional police commissioners being ordered to remain vigilant in their respective domains. Suriyasai Katasila, Co-ordinator of the Continued on page 24