Thailand’s Supreme Court ordered former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to pay 17.6 billion baht ($542.37 million) in taxes from a 2006 share sale, senior officials said Tuesday, reviving a case that led to his ousting 19 years ago.
In 2006, Thaksin sold shares in Shin Corporation, a telecommunications firm he founded, to Singapore’s Temasek, raising concerns about a conflict of interest as well as allegations of tax evasion.
At the time, Thaksin said the transaction was compliant with rules, but the sale ignited protests in Bangkok that eventually led to the army deposing him and seizing power later that year.
“This matter must proceed based on the judgment,” Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said Tuesday.
“The Revenue Department are examining the details,” he told reporters when asked when the taxes would be collected.
The ruling is the latest blow against the polarizing billionaire, who is currently serving a one-year prison term for a separate matter.
Thaksin’s representatives declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.
In August, Paetongtarn Shinawatra, his daughter, was dismissed as prime minister by court order over an ethics violation that stemmed from a leaked phone call between her and Cambodia’s former leader Hun Sen.
In May, Thaksin’s sister, former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, was ordered to pay $305 million in damages over a botched rice scheme.
She was sentenced to five years in prison in absentia for the case in 2017 and has been living overseas to avoid prison.
Leave a comment