Tight Security For Thaksin Son At Assets Probe

[george]

Tight security for Thaksin son at assets probe

BANGKOK: -- Security has been tightened at the Office of the Auditor-General of Thailand (OAG) in preparation for the presence of Panthongtae Shinawatra, son of deposed former prime minister Thaksin, who is expected to appear before the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) on Wednesday to clarify the Shin Corp shares transaction in which he was centrally involved.

OAG Deputy Auditor-General Pisit Leelavachiropas said Royal Thai Army personnel, who are wholly in charge of the security preparations, will strictly inspect persons and vehicles entering and leaving the office in order to prevent untoward incidents that may occur during Mr. Panthongtae's appearance tomorrow as a

huge crowd of people are expected.

Moble TV broadcast units will not be permitted to operate within the compound, Pisit said.

Viroj Laohaphan, the head of the AEC subcommittee probing the Shin Corp share case, said that so far Mr. Panthongtae is scheduled to testify before the panel at 11am (1100 hours) Wednesday, but he said he did not know whether there will be unprecedented last-minute changes in the procedure or not.

Two of Mr. Thaksin's children, Panthongtae and Pinthongta Shinawatra, and Kanjanapa Honghern, a secretary of Mr. Thaksin's wife Pojaman, were previously scheduled to appear before the panel in late December, but the three requested for postponement of their appearances to this month.

The AEC subcommittee agreed to postpone Mr. Panthongtae's testimony to January 10, Ms. Pinthongta to January 24 and Ms. Kanjanapa to January 12.

The tax-free sale of Shin Corp shares to Singapore's Temasek Holdings in January 2006 is among many of Mr. Thaksin's family business deals being investigated for violating Thai law by the assets probe panel installed by the Council for National Security (CNS), the military body which staged the coup toppling the Thaksin government on September 19.

The tax deal triggered months of street protests demanding Mr. Thaksin's resignation over alleged abuse of power and corruption, and eventually leading to the coup.

As for Mr. Thaksin's children, on January 20, 2006, the siblings bought 329 million shares of Shin Corp at 1 baht per share from Ample Rich Investments Co, a company allegedly set up by Mr. Thaksin and registered in the British Virgin Islands.

Later, on January 23, 2006, the brother and sister sold their stock to Singapore's Temasek holdings at 49.25 baht per share via the stock market, without paying any tax.

In Wednesday's testimony, Mr. Viroj said, the panel will not allow Mr. Panthongtae's lawyers to testify on his behalf, and in fact he was the only person the panel invited for the hearing.

--TNA 2007-01-09

[Jai Dee]

Police ready to contain supporters of Mr. Panthongtae if disruptions occur

Pol. Lt. Gen. Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit, the Assistant to the Royal Thai Police Commissioner-General, said the gathering of Mr. Panthongtae Shinawatra’s supporters during his testimony before the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) can be done, but it has to be under the legal framework.

Pol. Lt. Gen. Watcharapol said Mr. Panthongtae, the son of former prime minister Thaksin, will testify about the sales of Shin Corp shares today. He believes that the supporters of Mr. Panthongtae will not create violence or problems even though the metropolitan police officers have a backup plan to curb them.

Pol. Col. Paisarn Kotchasap, the metropolitan police chief in Bang Sue, said the AEC has not coordinated with his police force yet, but the officers are prompt to take charge of the situation, if needed.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 10 January 2007

[george]

Thaksin son testifies in Shin Corp shares tax evasion case

BANGKOK: -- Panthongtae Shinawatra, son of deposed Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, on Wednesday appeared before Thailand's Assets Examination Committee (AEC) to clarify the Shin Corp shares transaction in which he was centrally involved, amid tight security.

As expected, a huge crowd -- including a flock of media personnel -- packed the compound of the Office of the Auditor-General of Thailand (OAG) which is also the AEC's office.

Security was strictly imposed with both military and police officers guarding the venue in order to prevent any untoward incidents, as it was hard to identify who among the huge crowd they are, between supporters or opponents of Mr. Thaksin's family or other groups with possible ill-intention.

Arriving at around 11am as scheduled, Mr. Panthongtae, accompanied by his youngest sister Ms. Paethongtharn and a team of lawyers, had to squeeze hard to get through the crowd of the journalists and some of his supporters who showed up to give him moral support.

This was the first time that Mr. Panthongtae appeared before the AEC since the panel ruled that he and his sister are among those involved in the tax-free Shin Corp share transaction allegedly in violation of Thai law, in terms of tax evasion.

Two of Mr. Thaksin's children, Mr. Panthongtae and Ms. Pinthongta, and Kanjanapa Honghern, a secretary of Mr. Thaksin's wife Khunying Pojaman, were previously scheduled to appear before the panel in late December, but the three requested for postponement of their appearances to this month.

The AEC subcommittee agreed to postpone Mr. Panthongtae's testimony to January 10, Ms. Pinthongta to January 24 and Ms. Kanjanapa to January 12.

--TNA 2007-01-10

[Scott]

I am curious as to exactly what the law is on paying taxes on share sales. Does anybody know?

[John K]

I am not sure about the laws, the army ripped everything up by the roots when they took over in September.

My question is, what is this hearing compared to in the USA? Is it like a grand jury or testifying in front of congress, or a trial? I know on the defendants part it is stall and wiggle.

[george]

This story continues here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=100699