Son of Thailand's ex-PM Thaksin charged with money-laundering

[webfact]

Son of Thailand's ex-PM Thaksin charged with money-laundering

 

Ousted Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra (L) speaks during a news conference with his son Panthongtae (R) at a hotel in Bangkok February 28, 2008. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang

 

BANGKOK (Reuters) - The only son of fugitive former Thai prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been formally charged with money-laundering, the Department of Special Investigations told Reuters on Wednesday.

 

Panthongtae Shinawatra is accused of receiving a 10 million baht ($300,000) cheque in 2004 related to an earlier corruption case involving 9.9 billion baht ($296 million) of fraudulent loans extended by the state-owned Krungthai Bank when his father was prime minister.

 

The deputy spokesman of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), Woranan Srilum, said Panthongtae had turned himself in on Tuesday but had been released as no arrest warrant for him has been issued.

 

Panthongtae could now gather evidence for his case, Woranan said, while the DSI must decide whether to take the case to the criminal court.

 

Panthongtae was not available for comment. He complained this month of victimisation and called for the dropping of the money-laundering investigation.

 

His lawyer declined to comment when contacted by Reuters.

 

Supporters of the Shinawatras say the legal action is the latest bid by authorities in junta-ruled Thailand to squeeze the Shinawatra family out of politics and blunt its influence.

 

Beginning in the late 1980s, former policeman Thaksin built a telecommunications conglomerate that made him one of Thailand’s richest and most powerful men.

 

After entering politics, he won landslide election victories, beginning in 2001, with the support of the rural and urban poor who saw him as the first political leader to care for them.

 

But he made powerful enemies, especially in the Bangkok-based establishment, which saw him and his populist ways as a threat.

 

Ousted in a 2006 coup, and later convicted of corruption, which he denies, Thaksin has overseen from self-exile victory for his party in every election since, most recently in 2011, when his sister, Yingluck Shinawatra, became prime minister.

 

She was ousted in a 2014 coup.

 

Last month, the Supreme Court sentenced Yingluck to five years in jail in absentia for mismanaging a rice subsidy scheme.

 

Recently, old cases against Thaksin have been revived, including an accusation that he abused power while he was prime minister by ordering the Export-Import Bank of Thailand to give low interest loans to Myanmar in 2006 to further his business interests.

 

In another case, Thaksin was accused of graft and negligence in connection with the approval of a lottery scheme in 2003.

 

Authorities are also looking to charge him with royal insult and computer crime for an interview he gave to South Korean media in 2015.

 

Thaksin, in a message he posted on Twitter this month, denied any thought of ever offending the "royal institution".

Watcharapol Prasanrajkit, chairman of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, denied any bid to target the Shinawatras saying the cases just happened to be coming up at this time.

 

How Thaksin's political machine performs in an election expected in November 2018 will be keenly watched.

 

(Reporting by Aukkarapon Niyomyat, Suphanida Thakral, and Panu Wongcha-um)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-10-18

[darksidedog]

I wonder how long it is going to be before he disappears and pops up in Dubai? His family do not have a good track record of turning up in court after all, do they?

[bristolgeoff]

what a surprise like father like son.also another one for dubai very soon

[tracker1]

13 years! starting to sound the same as our Cambodian neighbours doing away with the opposition !

 

[observer90210]

It this really against the law, the truth  or just another political issue ?....

 

One never knows who is picking on who in politics and who is telling the truth....so just keep away and don't make any comments in public...your stay in Thailand will be smoother....

[Tatsujin]

27 minutes ago, darksidedog said:

I wonder how long it is going to be before he disappears and pops up in Dubai? His family do not have a good track record of turning up in court after all, do they?

Can't really blame them for not turning up to Court given the verdicts have always been decided upon in advance, along with seizure of assets prior to any conviction as happened recently with Yingluck.

[midas]

Going through the entire family like a dose of salts while the red Bull heir has been swanning around since 2012.Another example of Thai justice

[Cuchulainn]

What a scumbag family.

[rwdrwdrwd]

11 minutes ago, Cuchulainn said:

What a scumbag family.

Pfft yeah, cos there's definitely no agenda against them at all, is there.

Edited October 18, 2017 by rwdrwdrwd

[tbthailand]

As if the general, his brother / family / army never did any money laundering, ... 

 

More selective 'justice'

[epicstuff]

13 minutes ago, rwdrwdrwd said:

Pfft yeah, cos there's definitely no agenda against them at all, is there.

Wasnt it obvious enough for you that the family was on the take?  Even if the stories about his rise to ridiculous wealth from a policemen isn't true, the sheer greed of trying to evade his tax should give a pretty clear measure of their ethics.

[maxpower]

7 minutes ago, epicstuff said:

Wasnt it obvious enough for you that the family was on the take?  Even if the stories about his rise to ridiculous wealth from a policemen isn't true, the sheer greed of trying to evade his tax should give a pretty clear measure of their ethics.

Everyone here is on the take and those who are not active sit waiting for the next opportunity.

[rwdrwdrwd]

15 minutes ago, epicstuff said:

Wasnt it obvious enough for you that the family was on the take?  Even if the stories about his rise to ridiculous wealth from a policemen isn't true, the sheer greed of trying to evade his tax should give a pretty clear measure of their ethics.

He created one of the most successful telecoms companies in the country.

What's the salary of a senior army official these days - they seem to do pretty well on it.

If we're taking tax evasion by rich Thais into account then I think we're going to run out of internet if we properly delve into whether or not this particular family are being abnormally targeted.

Edited October 18, 2017 by rwdrwdrwd

[AGareth2]

12 minutes ago, epicstuff said:

trying to evade his tax

what tax was that?

[nausea]

 Thaksin delenda est.

[Thailand]

23 minutes ago, tbthailand said:

As if the general, his brother / family / army never did any money laundering, ... 

 

More selective 'justice'

Perhaps we will see the same scenario applying to them in the future?

[halloween]

26 minutes ago, rwdrwdrwd said:

He created one of the most successful telecoms companies in the country.

What's the salary of a senior army official these days - they seem to do pretty well on it.

If we're taking tax evasion by rich Thais into account then I think we're going to run out of internet if we properly delve into whether or not this particular family are being abnormally targeted.

Which part of the word 'monopoly' don't you understand?

[scorecard]

Just now, rwdrwdrwd said:

He created one of the most successful telecoms companies in the country.

What's the salary of a senior army official these days - they seem to do pretty well on it.

If we're taking tax evasion by rich Thais into account then I think we're going to run out of internet if we properly delve into whether or not this particular family are being abnormally targeted.

 

"He created one of the most successful telecoms companies in the country."

 

Yep, he made a lot of money when he was handed an exclusive telcoms licence from a scaly general during a time when the general was a key player in mowing down/ murdering 200 unarmed protesting Thai people and when it was state policy that all telecoms activity had to be within state organizations. No other licenses were issued, so he had a monopoly and took advantage of it by charging outrageous fees and call rates. 

 

Then when it suited him he changed ownership laws in 5 minutes to be able to take advantage of selling a large part of his telecoms stuff to an offshore entity to become very rich.

 

Such a nice guy.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 18, 2017 by scorecard

[Bluespunk]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Panthongtae was not available for comment. He complained this month of victimisation and called for the dropping of the money-laundering investigation.

Did he deny accepting the money...or was he giving the chicken fecal matter excuse of 'I gave it back'...

Edited October 18, 2017 by Bluespunk

[rwdrwdrwd]

3 minutes ago, scorecard said:

 

"He created one of the most successful telecoms companies in the country."

 

Yep, he made a lot of money when he was handed an exclusive telcoms licence from a scaly general during a time when the general was a key player in mowing down/ murdering 200 unarmed protesting Thai people and when it was state policy that all telecoms activity had to be within state organizations. And he charged outrageous fees / call costs etc., and there was no competition.

 

Then when it suited him he changed ownership laws to be able to take advantage of selling a large part of his telecoms stuff to an offshore entity to become very rich.

 

Such a nice guy.

 

 

 

 

I'm didn't claim he was a nice guy.

 

I'm expressing sarcasm at the complete denial that his extended family is being targeted.

Edited October 18, 2017 by rwdrwdrwd

[Bluespunk]

1 minute ago, rwdrwdrwd said:

I'm didn't claim he was a nice guy. I'm expressing sarcasm at the complete denial that his extended family is being targeted.

As ye sow, so shall ye reap...

[rwdrwdrwd]

2 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

As ye sow, so shall ye reap...

 

Well, quite. Which is a far cry from "what a scumbag family", and ruling out the possibility that there's an agenda.

Edited October 18, 2017 by rwdrwdrwd

[scorecard]

Just now, Bluespunk said:

As ye sow, so shall ye reap...

 

Sort of reminds me what my parents always told me ' you tell a lie and it will bounce back at you, maybe it will take a long time, but it will bounce back and punish you.

[4MyEgo]

They couldn't get him or his sister, so now they go for the rest of the family, revenge has no ending, it would appear.

[scorecard]

'get him' 

 

He was found guilty in an obvious abuse of power case and his sister was also found guilty.

 

The fact that both of them fled is a different subject. 

 

[InMyShadow]

 
"He created one of the most successful telecoms companies in the country."
 
Yep, he made a lot of money when he was handed an exclusive telcoms licence from a scaly general during a time when the general was a key player in mowing down/ murdering 200 unarmed protesting Thai people and when it was state policy that all telecoms activity had to be within state organizations. No other licenses were issued, so he had a monopoly and took advantage of it by charging outrageous fees and call rates. 
 
Then when it suited him he changed ownership laws in 5 minutes to be able to take advantage of selling a large part of his telecoms stuff to an offshore entity to become very rich.
 
Such a nice guy.
 
 
 
 

Lol this happens with powerful politicians around the world. Nothing special here

[bheard]

Perhaps we will see the same scenario applying to them in the future?

Prolly not because our general has cunningly created new laws which will prevent such behaviour.

Sent from my BLL-L22 using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[wakeupplease]

Which part of the word 'monopoly' don't you understand?

 

The total and utter persecution of a family that they want out of the way at any cost, seems to be the answer to all problems in Asia these days KICK THEM OUT any way they can

 

Makes Yinglucks asylum request even stronger.

 

If I was a dog, cat or an animal in the Thaksen family I would be packing my bags also and leaving as the next thing will be charges for laundering something or another.

 

Disgrace but where are we.

[eggers]

Really, find that v hard to believe ... Comes from a fine family of convicted criminals, who’ve conned Thais for decades.Pathongate certainly had a good teacher in his father, “the Puppeteer from Dubai” & Aunt Poi, now hiding somewhere in Europe... All have great ethics & morals... NOT!! 

[toolpush]

2 hours ago, rwdrwdrwd said:

He created one of the most successful telecoms companies in the country.

What's the salary of a senior army official these days - they seem to do pretty well on it.

If we're taking tax evasion by rich Thais into account then I think we're going to run out of internet if we properly delve into whether or not this particular family are being abnormally targeted.

Actually his American partner created it. Thaksin rode his back and then screwed him out of his share.