Potjaman Shinawatra Found Guilty Of Tax Evasion

[NoSpeakIt]

thanks.

i don't think thailand is anywhere close to where the soviet bloc was in terms of free capitalist anarachy.

[Neeranam]

BREAKING NEWS

Potjaman Shinawatra Guilty

10.47am : The Criminal Court on Thursday found Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra guilty of intentionally avoiding a tax payment of Bt546 million for the transfer of 4.5 million shares of the Shinawatra Computer and Communications' shares worth Bt738 million. Also found guilty in the historic trial are Pojaman's brother Bannaphot Damapong and her personal secretary Kanchana Honghern. The court sentenced Pojaman and Bannaphot each to 3 years in jail.

- The Nation

Great news - made my day!

[Heng]

thanks.

i don't think thailand is anywhere close to where the soviet bloc was in terms of free capitalist anarachy.

No worries.

And no, it's not close yet... but take away a few 'restraints' and it won't be far off. The police already understand capitalism to a fair extent, and it's only a matter of time for the army (who, if they have no one to serve, will surely turn towards serving themselves). Both are aleady well employed by the business interests in society, and IMO the trend is towards these institutional apparatus becoming more and more 'available' to the average business person.

[Shah Jahan]

So did they escape to china today?

anybody have the word on whether they actually got out of the country today?

[hammered]

As pointed out by some analysts the conspiracy to deceive arguement the judges emohasized will set the bar for future cases like this. It suddenly got a lot harder to defend against this kind of thing.

[baanthale]

As pointed out by some analysts the conspiracy to deceive arguement the judges emohasized will set the bar for future cases like this. It suddenly got a lot harder to defend against this kind of thing.

And all depending on who you are, and how popular you are at the moment This does not have anything to do with justice, just hand picked cases. If it had anything to do with justice, court rooms had been full for years already with cases a lot more clear then this one.

[sibeymai]

I don't think it has been stated elsewhere in this thread so I'll try toi sum up the situation.

Potjaman wanted to transfer some shares in the family business to her brother Bannapot. The shares were being held by Potjaman's maid at the time who was acting as a nominee holder. Bannapot, as recipient of the shares had an obligation to pay tax on the market value as income. The tax amount on the transfer was 273 million baht (around 30%). Potjaman and Bannapot organised the transfer of shares in a manner which sought to avoid tax by making it seem the transfer occurred through the Stock Exchange of Thailand on the open market. Shares trading through the SET are not subject to tax so Potjaman would not have to pay any tax on the increased value of the shares. Bannapot then claimed that the shares were a gift from Potjaman who had a "moral obligation" to Bannapot which therefore did not require him to declare the transfer as income since gifts under moral obligation are tax exempt. The Shinawatras received advice from the Revenue Department confirming the tax free status of the transfer. However, at the time this advice was given Thaksin was already prime minister and the advice from the Revenue Department was seen at the time as being made for the benefit of the Shinawatras.

The court ruled on a number of points.

Firstly, while the share transfer did occur through the SET it was set up to appear this way to avoid Potjaman paying tax on the sale profit component. The court ruled that the fact of Potjaman writing a cheque to buy the shares from the maid and subsequently depositing the cheque back into her own bank account proved that the trade on the SET open market was a sham to avoid tax.

Secondly, Bannapot did not declare the shares as income on his tax return claiming the gift exemption. A damning piece of evidence was provided by the Shinawatras themselves which the court used to rule against the gift defence. The Shinawatras produced a document supposedly created in 1997 regarding the gift between Potjaman and Bannapot. The document referred to Potjaman as "Khunying". However, Potjaman was not conferred the khunying title until after the shares were transferred in 2001. The court ruled that this document had been created after the fact to support the latter claim of a gift and was therefore indicative of a conspiracy. The court also dismissed the moral obligation claim as Bannapot was already independently wealthy not in any situation which required a moral obligation from his sister to support him financially.

Given the above the court concluded that Potjaman, Bannapot and Potjaman's secretary therefore conspired from the outset to avoid taxation. The taxation amount still stands due plus a penalty amount of a further 272 million baht. as stated in the press all three received 2 years for conspiracy to evade taxation and potjaman and Bannapot received a further year for submitting false documentation to the authorities.

All three can appeal their sentences within the next 30 days, or request an extension from the court for further time to prepare an appeal. New evidence will not be allowed and the appeal can only be based on points of law including the judge's interpretations.

Hope this makes things clearer.

It is my view that after all the appeals have been finalised and assuming the convictions are upheld then those convicted will go to jail, should they remain in Thailand.

Edited August 1, 2008 by sibeymai

[quiksilva]

Fantastic news for Thailand!

The sooner this is over, the better!

[hammered]

I don't think it has been stated elsewhere in this thread so I'll try toi sum up the situation.

Potjaman wanted to transfer some shares in the family business to her brother Bannapot. The shares were being held by Potjaman's maid at the time who was acting as a nominee holder. Bannapot, as recipient of the shares had an obligation to pay tax on the market value as income. The tax amount on the transfer was 273 million baht (around 30%). Potjaman and Bannapot organised the transfer of shares in a manner which sought to avoid tax by making it seem the transfer occurred through the Stock Exchange of Thailand on the open market. Shares trading through the SET are not subject to tax so Potjaman would not have to pay any tax on the increased value of the shares. Bannapot then claimed that the shares were a gift from Potjaman who had a "moral obligation" to Bannapot which therefore did not require him to declare the transfer as income since gifts under moral obligation are tax exempt. The Shinawatras received advice from the Revenue Department confirming the tax free status of the transfer. However, at the time this advice was given Thaksin was already prime minister and the advice from the Revenue Department was seen at the time as being made for the benefit of the Shinawatras.

The court ruled on a number of points.

Firstly, while the share transfer did occur through the SET it was set up to appear this way to avoid Potjaman paying tax on the sale profit component. The court ruled that the fact of Potjaman writing a cheque to buy the shares from the maid and subsequently depositing the cheque back into her own bank account proved that the trade on the SET open market was a sham to avoid tax.

Secondly, Bannapot did not declare the shares as income on his tax return claiming the gift exemption. A damning piece of evidence was provided by the Shinawatras themselves which the court used to rule against the gift defence. The Shinawatras produced a document supposedly created in 1999 regarding the gift between Potjaman and Bannapot. The document referred to Potjaman as "Khunying". However, Potjaman was not conferred the khunying title until after the shares were transferred in 2001. The court ruled that this document had been created after the fact to support the latter claim of a gift and was therefore indicative of a conspiracy. The court also dismissed the moral obligation claim as Bannapot was already independently wealthy not in any situation which required a moral obligation from his sister to support him financially.

Given the above the court concluded that Potjaman, Bannapot and Potjaman's secretary therefore conspired from the outset to avoid taxation. The taxation amount still stands due plus a penalty amount of a further 272 million baht. as stated in the press all three received 2 years for conspiracy to evade taxation and potjaman and Bannapot received a further year for submitting false documentation to the authorities.

All three can appeal their sentences within the next 30 days, or request an extension from the court for further time to prepare an appeal. New evidence will not be allowed and the appeal can only be based on points of law including the judge's interpretations.

Hope this makes things clearer.

It is my view that after all the appeals have been finalised and assuming the convictions are upheld then those convicted will go to jail, should they remain in Thailand.

There is an irony somewhere that the fall in large was attributed to an amateurish fake document.

[Samuian]

So did they escape to china today?

anybody have the word on whether they actually got out of the country today?

if they run.... well he is still "chained" to the 70 billions they froze... don't think he's letting lose on this little war chest soon!

I assume we will see the unfolding of a wonderful thai drama live , it will go the whole nine yards!

Thaksin looked tense during the presiding judge's reading of the verdict. He must have realised by now that the game is over. He finally has lost the hard-fought battle over the past three years.

The next step for Thaksin is not easy. If he runs away, he will lose all the Bt70 billion tightly locked away in the country. If he stays on, he will lose more cases and might risk going to jail. A military coup or a Constitution rewrite in his favour to change the political tide is impossible. There is indeed no way out for him now.

from: The Nation

[Moonrakers]

A damning piece of evidence was provided by the Shinawatras themselves which the court used to rule against the gift defence. The Shinawatras produced a document supposedly created in 1997 regarding the gift between Potjaman and Bannapot. The document referred to Potjaman as "Khunying". However, Potjaman was not conferred the khunying title until after the shares were transferred in 2001. The court ruled that this document had been created after the fact to support the latter claim of a gift and was therefore indicative of a conspiracy.

Somebody didn't think that through properly now did they?

Thanks for the post sibeymai, it makes alot more sense now.

[hammered]

So did they escape to china today?

anybody have the word on whether they actually got out of the country today?

if they run.... well he is still "chained" to the 70 billions they froze... don't think he's letting lose on this little war chest soon!

I assume we will see the unfolding of a wonderful thai drama live , it will go the whole nine yards!

Thaksin looked tense during the presiding judge's reading of the verdict. He must have realised by now that the game is over. He finally has lost the hard-fought battle over the past three years.

The next step for Thaksin is not easy. If he runs away, he will lose all the Bt70 billion tightly locked away in the country. If he stays on, he will lose more cases and might risk going to jail. A military coup or a Constitution rewrite in his favour to change the political tide is impossible. There is indeed no way out for him now.

from: The Nation

Personally I dont think he will give up right now. However, if he or his spouse do decide enough is enough it is going to have a real impact on the PPP. Who will pick up the tab to run such a large party? That costs one hel_l of a lot of money.

[blaze]

I don't think it has been stated elsewhere in this thread so I'll try toi sum up the situation.

Potjaman wanted to transfer some shares in the family business to her brother Bannapot. The shares were being held by Potjaman's maid at the time who was acting as a nominee holder. Bannapot, as recipient of the shares had an obligation to pay tax on the market value as income. The tax amount on the transfer was 273 million baht (around 30%). Potjaman and Bannapot organised the transfer of shares in a manner which sought to avoid tax by making it seem the transfer occurred through the Stock Exchange of Thailand on the open market. Shares trading through the SET are not subject to tax so Potjaman would not have to pay any tax on the increased value of the shares. Bannapot then claimed that the shares were a gift from Potjaman who had a "moral obligation" to Bannapot which therefore did not require him to declare the transfer as income since gifts under moral obligation are tax exempt. The Shinawatras received advice from the Revenue Department confirming the tax free status of the transfer. However, at the time this advice was given Thaksin was already prime minister and the advice from the Revenue Department was seen at the time as being made for the benefit of the Shinawatras.

The court ruled on a number of points.

Firstly, while the share transfer did occur through the SET it was set up to appear this way to avoid Potjaman paying tax on the sale profit component. The court ruled that the fact of Potjaman writing a cheque to buy the shares from the maid and subsequently depositing the cheque back into her own bank account proved that the trade on the SET open market was a sham to avoid tax.

Secondly, Bannapot did not declare the shares as income on his tax return claiming the gift exemption. A damning piece of evidence was provided by the Shinawatras themselves which the court used to rule against the gift defence. The Shinawatras produced a document supposedly created in 1997 regarding the gift between Potjaman and Bannapot. The document referred to Potjaman as "Khunying". However, Potjaman was not conferred the khunying title until after the shares were transferred in 2001. The court ruled that this document had been created after the fact to support the latter claim of a gift and was therefore indicative of a conspiracy. The court also dismissed the moral obligation claim as Bannapot was already independently wealthy not in any situation which required a moral obligation from his sister to support him financially.

Given the above the court concluded that Potjaman, Bannapot and Potjaman's secretary therefore conspired from the outset to avoid taxation. The taxation amount still stands due plus a penalty amount of a further 272 million baht. as stated in the press all three received 2 years for conspiracy to evade taxation and potjaman and Bannapot received a further year for submitting false documentation to the authorities.

All three can appeal their sentences within the next 30 days, or request an extension from the court for further time to prepare an appeal. New evidence will not be allowed and the appeal can only be based on points of law including the judge's interpretations.

Hope this makes things clearer.

It is my view that after all the appeals have been finalised and assuming the convictions are upheld then those convicted will go to jail, should they remain in Thailand.

Thanks sibeymai- in light of what you've said, I personally think justice has been served- but in order for it to be SEEN to be served, I expect some similar cases toppling people outside of the Thaksin camp.

[Plus]

...if he or his spouse do decide enough is enough it is going to have a real impact on the PPP. Who will pick up the tab to run such a large party?

Sure, when it was percieved as Thaksin's party he was expected to be the biggest contributor.

Without him people would sponsor only their preferred candidates who then would form alliances and groups within PPP. I will be strictly business, nothing ideological.

Happens all the time in big successful organisations - every department is asked to provide for itself and money losing departmets will be downsized or sold off. It's part of ISO standards now, isn't it - charge everyone for everything you do in your office or bosses will think you are leaching money.

Next step in evolution of political parties.

[Old Man River]

It is my view that after all the appeals have been finalised and assuming the convictions are upheld then those convicted will go to jail, should they remain in Thailand.

I share this view now, but it will be approx. 4 years until the case gets to the Supreme Court and by then anything can happen.

[Old Man River]

Personally I dont think he will give up right now. However, if he or his spouse do decide enough is enough it is going to have a real impact on the PPP. Who will pick up the tab to run such a large party? That costs one hel_l of a lot of money.

The pressure on Samak is rising by the minute to get him to re-write the constitution.

[Samuian]

The pressure on Samak is rising by the minute to get him to re-write the constitution.

on ALL Members of the PPP and all who have been eating HIS "Bread and Butter" in one way or the other.

Will they put a clause in where all wrongdoers from high places are under immunity towards the law?

Will there be a clause that makes conspiracy a public servants pastime?

Will there be a general amnesty for corrupt politicians?

I don't think as long as the "watchdog" is out there an alive!

Chamlong already complained that he and Sondhi are on the "hit list" ...

Well, well, well very interesting times are ahead - that is the only thing we all can be sure of!

[wolfmanjack]

thanks.

i don't think thailand is anywhere close to where the soviet bloc was in terms of free capitalist anarachy.

No worries.

And no, it's not close yet... but take away a few 'restraints' and it won't be far off. The police already understand capitalism to a fair extent, and it's only a matter of time for the army (who, if they have no one to serve, will surely turn towards serving themselves). Both are aleady well employed by the business interests in society, and IMO the trend is towards these institutional apparatus becoming more and more 'available' to the average business person.

When i first came here it was explained to me that the "Army Mafia" was the most powerful force in thailand. Then came the "Police Mafia" and then the "Mafia Mafia". My father was at the night bazaar in Chiang Mai when a police officer walked up and shot a vendor right in front of him. My dad was like "what the hel_l was that?" Another vendor told my father that person did not pay so he was made an example of for the rest of the vendors. Right after that happened a few army personal were stationed at he night bazaar. I still see one guy with a beret keeping an eye on things.

So you are saying that it might go back to the army and police extracting protection money from businesses? I am already paying some tea money but i would hate for it to get out of control.

[sriracha john]

A courageous and excellent start to begin the long road to seeking justice in the Kingdom of Thailand.

it is terrible.

his wife has only obviously helped out her husband.

It's terrific.

It's been asserted on many occasions that it's actually Potjaman who literally and figuratively wears the pants in that family.

[sriracha john]

A courageous and excellent start to begin the long road to seeking justice in the Kingdom of Thailand.

As pointed out by some analysts the conspiracy to deceive arguement the judges emohasized will set the bar for future cases like this. It suddenly got a lot harder to defend against this kind of thing.

And all depending on who you are, and how popular you are at the moment This does not have anything to do with justice, just hand picked cases. If it had anything to do with justice, court rooms had been full for years already with cases a lot more clear then this one.

The long road has to begin somewhere... guess these two were just born lucky...

Edited August 1, 2008 by sriracha john

[hammered]

Personally I dont think he will give up right now. However, if he or his spouse do decide enough is enough it is going to have a real impact on the PPP. Who will pick up the tab to run such a large party? That costs one hel_l of a lot of money.

The pressure on Samak is rising by the minute to get him to re-write the constitution.

This is going to get extremely nasty. The pressure to ammend and save the man will increase but against a backdrop of a case that in the end had solid evidence and will expose the ammendment as nothing more than an attempt to avoid further convictions that may in the end also have as solid evidence as this one.

There is also the occasionally discussed issue of will a charter ammendment be retroactive on cases already in court.

Samak is caught in a vice too. He is pressured by the party to ammend and yet he has the court cases that could remove him in an instant hanging over him. He is also no doubt about to announce a very disppointing cabinet reshuffle to the backdrop of barely hidden PPP in fighting for posts made even worse by possibilities of impending disolution or an election.

A complete mess and in the meantime nothing is done about running the country as the economic situation worsens.

Things will imho get a lot worse before they get better.

[baanthale]

A courageous and excellent start to begin the long road to seeking justice in the Kingdom of Thailand.

As pointed out by some analysts the conspiracy to deceive arguement the judges emohasized will set the bar for future cases like this. It suddenly got a lot harder to defend against this kind of thing.

And all depending on who you are, and how popular you are at the moment This does not have anything to do with justice, just hand picked cases. If it had anything to do with justice, court rooms had been full for years already with cases a lot more clear then this one.

The long road has to begin somewhere... guess these two were just born lucky...

WOW, does this actually mean that you admit to that there are other wrongdoers then the Thaksin family I am impressed! I really looking forward to your reports from the court room with Sonthi, the junta generals and PAD people

[Plus]

So far Samak was talking about amendments only to articles concerned with the fate of PPP and inability to sign off international treaties under the table. I think he intentionally omitted AEC related articles - he doesn't care.

Personally, no amount of amendments will save his sorry ass if his last appeal gets rejected. Perhaps that's why he doesn't really want to rock the wrong boat or challenge public opinion too much. He thinks he can get away with saving PPP from Pad and that's all he is prepared to do.

It's Thaksin who is under pressure now - he needs to show that he's still very much in the game, he needs to show some solid strategy. All he says in public is that he's out of politics and after the court verdict it looks like he's really finished.

Even his genuine supporters and well-wishers are probably at a loss as to how they can help.

The longer he stays quiet, the more doubts his MPs will have about his leadership. Look at the latest reshuffle, no one even speculated that Thaksin had a hand in it. Back in January every prospective minster had to pay him a visit in Hong Kong. Things have changed, it's Newin who runs the show now, not Thaksin.

In this climate I don't see them pushing for amendments to overrule court cases, they have no incentive to do so.

[Plus]

What about "Grippen fighters". Did Thaksin government purchase those expensive crap too?

You don't know what you talking about Swedish quality

Judging by BT posting standards, it probably should be cheap crap.

>>>>

Some people are never satisfied. If only the secretary was found guilty, they'd talk about letting the big fish away. When the big fish gets caught, it's about the whole ocean remaining free.

It's brat's defence argument - "but they did it, too". Maybe they did, but

A. They didn't get caught

B. You have to answer your own charges, not theirs.

If Thaksin had any grounds to sue Sondhi for corruption he would have done so. Instead he charges him with endless and trivial "lese majeste" or defamation suits.

Incindentally, do you remember Bush' first remark about Thaksin: "He got caught, huh?"

[TAWP]

There is an irony somewhere that the fall in large was attributed to an amateurish fake document.

"Honey, I had the lawyer draw up a fake document, hand it in to the court later will you?"

"Yes dear, this document shall free me." *reads document* "Oh, the lawyer didn't address me by my title, how bad manner of him, he shall go to jail later fort his...note to self: make him deliver cake with money. Ok, I'll just add my title here *writes* and pop over to the court and later some shopping..."

[samran]

Confirmed word has it that one of her daughters changed her Facebook tagline to 'life isn't fair'.

My response: no it isn't honey, no it isn't......

[Samuian]

Regarding the latest development some event come to mind....

"King Bhumibol Adulyadej called on the courts to be, in effect, political referees, saying, "If you do not follow legal principles, correct administration principles, the country will not survive as it is today."

Since then, the courts have taken steps that have curbed the power of Thaksin and his allies, nullifying an election, disbanding a political party and barring him and 110 other party officials from politics for five years.

"This judicial activism is justified because the other branches, I mean the legislative and executive, do not function well," said Somchai Homlaor, who heads Forum Asia, a human rights group. "This is a crucial period for the judiciary. If they get good support from the public and they function well, this will be the turning point of Thai politics. If this judicial activism fails to reform our politics, this will end up as a disaster for our society."

Did his words finally bear some fruit?

Source:

and on it goes...

"In the latest case, military-backed investigators accused the fallen premier of conflict of interest in a loan granted by the Export-Import Bank of Thailand so that Myanmar could buy satellite services from Thaksin's Shin Satellite.

The investigators claim Thaksin wrongly ordered the Exim Bank to increase a three-billion-baht (89.6-million-dollar) loan to four billion baht, so that Myanmar's ruling junta could buy more services from ShinSat.

ShinSat is part of the Shin Corp telecom firm, which Thaksin founded. His family sold the company to Singapore's state-linked Temasek Holdings in January 2006 in a tax-free deal that prompted street protests leading to the military coup against him.

‘The charges submitted by the (investigators) are enough to warrant a hearing. The court decided to take the case,’ Judge Panya Suthibodi told the court, setting the first hearing for September 15.

Neither Thaksin nor his lawyer attended the hearing Wednesday.

The case is the latest in the mounting legal challenges against Thaksin. He also faces trial at the Supreme Court for allegedly arranging for his wife to buy a prime chunk of real estate for just one-third its appraised value, while other graft cases are pending."

Source:

Edited August 1, 2008 by Samuian

[sriracha john]

WOW, does this actually mean that you admit to that there are other wrongdoers then the Thaksin family I am impressed! I really looking forward to your reports from the court room with Sonthi, the junta generals and PAD people

To anyone that's been around the forum, they would already know I've always advocated justice for whatever occurs criminally. Perhaps it's because Thaksin and his brood dominate the criminal world in frequency and severity so much that you've mistakenly believed he's been the sole object of my attention.

As for posting news reports, are you aware that anyone can post these?

[baanthale]

What about "Grippen fighters". Did Thaksin government purchase those expensive crap too?

You don't know what you talking about Swedish quality

Judging by BT posting standards, it probably should be cheap crap.

>>>>

Some people are never satisfied. If only the secretary was found guilty, they'd talk about letting the big fish away. When the big fish gets caught, it's about the whole ocean remaining free.

It's brat's defence argument - "but they did it, too". Maybe they did, but

A. They didn't get caught

B. You have to answer your own charges, not theirs.

If Thaksin had any grounds to sue Sondhi for corruption he would have done so. Instead he charges him with endless and trivial "lese majeste" or defamation suits.

Incindentally, do you remember Bush' first remark about Thaksin: "He got caught, huh?"

So a theif is not a theif until he get's caught, nevermind everyone know he's stealing Plus logic, I wonder who is cheap here

You know, somehow I knew, you would be the only one denying any crimes made by PAD, generals or junta. Must be easy to only listning to youself

[marshbags]

The Nation 01-08-08

TAX - EVASION RULING

3 Years Jail for Pojaman

Shinawatra family reeling; will appeal court verdict

The wife of ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra was sentenced to three years' jail yesterday after being found guilty of conspiracy to deceive in order to avoid paying Bt546 million in tax on a share transfer in 1997.

The Criminal Court verdict stunned Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra and her family, including Thaksin, who looked very tense and depressed.

Also found guilty of the same charges were Pojaman's adopted brother Bhanapot Damapong, and her secretary Kanjanapa Honghern.

The court sentenced both Pojaman and Bhanapot to a total of three years in jail - two for conspiracy to evade tax and one year for giving falsified statements. Kanjanapa received a two-year jail term.

All three defendants placed bonds to avoid serving time, while about 1,000 supporters outside the court were taken aback by the verdict.

Pongthep Thepkanjana, the Shinawatra family spokesman, said all three defendants would appeal their convictions.

Thaksin flew off to Japan last night. Pojaman is due to join him later in Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

I read somewhere and actually referred to it that she was in effect banned from travelling outside of Thailand pending the appeal, this seems to contradict it and if it is true, i find it amazing....<deleted> ??????

marshbags

The court said the three defendants had committed serious crimes and filed false statements in order to avoid paying taxes. They intended not to pay taxes despite the fact they were rich.

The court reprimanded Pojaman in particular, saying that with her high economic, social and political status - as wife of the national leader - she should have acted as a role model for society.

The charges related to the transfer of 4.5 million shares of Shinawatra Computer and Communications in November 1997.

Viroj Laohaphand, a member of the Assets Examination Committee, which prepared the case, said the verdict vindicated the AEC, showing it had been working on the right path all along in investigating cases of corruption against politicians.

Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the Democrat Party, said the tax-evasion case against Pojaman was merely part of the justice process.

"What our party has been saying all along is that the law must be law. Nobody can stay above the law. This is the foundation of the democratic system. The court's verdict is part of the justice process," he said.

Korn Chatikavanij, the deputy secretary-general of the Democrat Party, said society had been waiting for the verdict for a long time - since 1997.

"The opposition has been debating this issue during three successive governments. In the end, the court has delivered a verdict that the case is part of an attempt to avoid paying tax," Korn said. "This should set a precedent for other court cases, with stock transfers among members of the same family at below the market price and to avoid paying tax."

Unquote

marshbags

Edited August 1, 2008 by marshbags