Ample It’s Truly Not

[penzman]

The good name of the SEC hangs in the balance

08 February 2006

Thirachai (second from right) and Kittiratt (right): "What are they doing there at the Finance Ministry?"

Thirachai Bhuvanatnaranubala, the secretarygeneral of the Securities and Exchange Commission, is in the hot seat. He is nowhere to be seen

during this tumultuous period rocking the SEC. As the Shin Corp scandal is turning into a big mess, Thirachai can't find his balance.

Will the SEC really mean business by going after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his two children Panthongtae and Pinthongtha over

their murky transactions involving the Shin Corp stocks? Both Panthongtae and Pinthongtha are having a difficult time explaining their involvement with Ample Rich, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. And all of a sudden, there emerged another Ample Rich, incorporated

as a British company. Shin stocks were traded actively by the Ample Rich twins in the period leading to Temasek's Bt73.2 billion takeover of Shin Corp.

Did the two children of the prime minister properly report their ownership in Ample Rich? Did they violate the disclosure rules of the SEC? Did they violate the takeover rules of the SEC? Did they use insider information to trade Shin Corp stocks? Do they have any document to support their claim that they really had owned Shin Corp through proper transactions?

These are the questions for which the SEC must demand clear answers.

If Thirachai decides to get tough on this deal, his job will be at risk.

But if he treats the Shin Corp stock scandal as a nonissue, he will risk tarnishing not only his own image but also the longstanding reputation of the independent SEC.

Finance Minister Thanong Bidaya is casting a large dark shadow over the SEC. As chairman of the SEC, Thanong has the clout both to defend the PM and to steer the SEC to serve political ends.

It is no secret that Thirachai has always aimed to become the next governor of the Bank of Thailand. Any slipup will cost him the opportunity to serve the central bank, where he had spent most of his brilliant career before moving out to become the secretarygeneral of the SEC. He is up against the question: can one really write one’s own destiny?

But Thirachai’s duty and responsibility is to serve the law. The SEC has rules and regulations to guard the stability and fair play of the capital market. If it flunks this test, its reputation will be irreparably harmed.

Last week Thirachai made his way to the Finance Ministry along with Kittiratt Na Ranong, the president of the Stock Exchange of Thailand, to seek clarification over the Shin deal.

Well, that was the end of it. What business was he supposed to do with the Finance Ministry? Kittiratt, as always, has been a perfect reader of the political wind.

If you were the SEC’s secretarygeneral, and you were supposed to maintain the independence of the SEC, you would never bow to the influence of the Finance Ministry, which serves the interests of the executive branch. These people at the top just don’t know their lines of responsibility.

With Thirachai’s hesitation to take charge directly over the Shin Corp scandal, the Thai public has seen Chalee Chanthanayingyong, the assistant secretarygeneral of the SEC, doing Thirachai’s job instead. Chalee came out to ask tough questions right after Dr Suvarn

Valaisathien, the lawyer of the Shinawatra and Damapong families, tried to clarify the murky transactions between Ample Rich and Pinthongtha and Panthongtae.

Chalee: Ummmm.....Shin deal is not OK yet

Chalee asked that Pinthongtha and Panthongtae submit to the SEC evidence that they owned Ample Rich before this company sold them 329.2 million stock shares of Shin Corp for Bt1 apiece on January 20.

He gave the pair seven days to reply. Pinthongtha and Panthongtae have missed their deadline.

In the aftermath of the Shin scandal, Thanong came out to assure the public that the transactions were legal and exempt from taxation. How did he know all the details of the Bt73.2 billion transactions, which had been structured in such a torturously complicated way?

Chalee signalled to reporters that he would like to have more information about the deal.

Thanong, the chairman of the SEC, said the Shin deal is okay, while the assistant secretarygeneral said it is not okay yet because the Shinawatra siblings need to supply further evidence.

What is going on in this country?

- Bangkok Post

[tettyan]

Now, let me change the question a litte bit. If the innocent person was your son, then it'd be your problem.

True, but unlike you, I'm of the school that would rather let the guilty man walk free. Since you're of the school that would rather see the innocent killed, I'd say it's more you're problem than mine.

And regardless, again I'd like to reiterate that the executions of the dealers (on my street, and those of relatives at least) were dead on accurate without loss of innocent lives.

Since I don't live in your village, I won't dispute you're account. On the other hand, without due process, there will never be a way to verify for sure beyond hearsay accounts.

Even Adolf Eichmann ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Eichmann ) was given his day in court. For his own sake, I hope Thaksin is just as fortunate.

Edited February 9, 2006 by tettyan

[penzman]

Now' date=' let me change the question a litte bit. If the innocent person was your son, then it'd be your problem. [/quote']

True, but unlike you, I'm of the school that would rather let the guilty man walk free. Since you're of the school that would rather see the innocent killed, I'd say it's more you're problem than mine.

And regardless' date=' again I'd like to reiterate that the executions of the dealers (on my street, and those of relatives at least) were dead on accurate without loss of innocent lives.

[/quote']

Exactly! Do you remember the story at that time about the Thai family that had won the lottery but hadn't told any of the neighbours? Neighbours had reported them to the police after noticing they were spending a bit more, immediately thinking they were drug dealers...

[Jai Dee]

SEC investigates Ample Rich 2

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday vowed to look into the existence of a second firm named Ample Rich Investments registered in the UK that traded Shin Corp shares, and called for other government agencies to open investigations.

“When we learned about the news we began digging into the evidence to see whether there is a case of wrongdoing under the Securities and Exchange Act,” said Chalee Chantanayingyong, senior assistant secretary-general of the SEC, who added that the Commerce Ministry, the Anti-Money Laundering Office and other agencies should look into the matter. “We have never heard of Ample Rich 2 before, but again we have very few documents about Ample Rich.”

The first Ample Rich, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands and owned by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s son Panthongtae, came to light after the Shinawatra children failed to notify the SEC of a share transfer that took place days before the family sold its 49.6-percent stake in Shin Corp for 73.3 billion baht to the Singapore-controlled Temasek Holdings. Democrat lawmaker Korbsak Sabhavasu revealed the existence of a second Ample Rich Investments earlier this week following his own investigation into the Shin Corp share transfers.

Korbsak discovered the discrepancy when looking at documents Shin provided to the Commerce Ministry in 2001 concerning major shareholders. In a filing dated February 12, 2001, Ample Rich did not appear as a major shareholder of Shin. But in another filing nearly three months later on April 30, 2001, the Ample Rich registered in the British Virgin Islands held 22.9 million Shin shares and the British-registered Ample Rich held another 10 million shares.

The Commerce Ministry document, posted on Korbsak’s website, contradicts previous information given by Suvarn Valaisathien, a tax expert representing the Shinawatra and Damapong families, in a presentation last week. Suvarn mentioned only one firm named Ample Rich, which Thaksin set up in 1999 to hold 32.92 million Shin shares and subsequently sold to Panthongtae on December 1, 2000.

When contacted yesterday, Suvarn said: “I am not in a position to answer. Thank you and goodbye.”

Any investigation into Ample Rich 2 will likely center on what happened to those 32.92 million Shin shares between December 2000 and April 2001, when Ample Rich – under Panthongtae’s ownership – ostensibly sold the shares and then reacquired them with two separate companies using the same name. Thaksin was sworn in as prime minister on February 9, 2001, and did not list Ample Rich on his constitutionally required assets declaration.

The SEC has nearly wrapped up its investigation into the shareholding changes regarding the initial Ample Rich and found that Panthongtae and Pinthongtae, Thaksin’s daughter, appear to have violated articles 246 and 247 of the Securities and Exchange Act, which deal with notification of shareholding changes and mandatory tender offers. Offenders may be thrown in jail for up to two years or face a base fine of 500,000 baht and a further 10,000 baht fine for every day the violation continues.

In this case, the fine levied on the Shinawatra children could climb to about 20 million baht. The SEC has never thrown anyone in prison for these violations.

Chalee said the SEC is still waiting for official documents from the Shinawatras before issuing the fines. If the children admit to wrongdoing, the fine would be imposed; if they dispute the SEC’s findings, the case will likely go to court.

As for the second Ample Rich, Chalee said that the SEC would be looking to see if further violations of articles 246 and 247 had occurred. Article 246 requires a party to notify the SEC if more than five percent of the total shares change hands, while Article 247 requires a mandatory tender offer if one party owns 25 percent or more of the total shares.

Analysts were immediately unsure of why the company was created. The most cited reason could be that “farangs with black hair” who set up offshore accounts want to make it look as if foreigners are purchasing shares in Thai companies when the share prices are dropping.

“I don’t have the faintest idea what Khun Thaksin is doing there,” said Amarej Singranong, head of research at Adkinson Securities. “We can assume that the owners of the stock were trying to help the share price. But I don’t know why they would need to go all the way to England to do that.”

Korbsak also could not come up with a clear reason for the need to create Ample Rich 2, but speculated that the company may have been used to manipulate the share price or hide some money. The lawmaker called on the SEC to investigate the share transfers to see if insider trading occurred or capital gains taxes were required.

The SEC ruled last week that insider trading did not occur when Ample Rich transferred 329.2 million shares at one baht apiece to Panthongtae and Pinthongta.

If the second Ample Rich was also owned by the children, then they would presumably not be guilty of insider trading – but Korbsak wants the truth to come out.

“We are begging the SEC to investigate,” he said in an interview yesterday. “We are not investigators. I’m embarrassed to live in a country where the authorities do not investigate and just keep quiet. They have to wait until I expose this before they investigate. But why do they have to wait?”

Source: ThaiDay - 9 February 2006 14:22

[sriracha john]

True, but unlike you, I'm of the school that would rather let the guilty man walk free. Since you're of the school that would rather see the innocent killed, I'd say it's more you're problem than mine.

And regardless, again I'd like to reiterate that the executions of the dealers (on my street, and those of relatives at least) were dead on accurate without loss of innocent lives.

Exactly! Do you remember the story at that time about the Thai family that had won the lottery but hadn't told any of the neighbours? Neighbours had reported them to the police after noticing they were spending a bit more, immediately thinking they were drug dealers...

Precisely! As well as the 9 year old boy who was killed in a hail of police bullets sprayed at a car.

[sriracha john]

SEC investigates Ample Rich 2

“When we learned about the news we began digging into the evidence to see whether there is a case of wrongdoing under the Securities and Exchange Act,” said Chalee Chantanayingyong, senior assistant secretary-general of the SEC, who added that the Commerce Ministry, the Anti-Money Laundering Office and other agencies should look into the matter. “We have never heard of Ample Rich 2 before, but again we have very few documents about Ample Rich.”

That's ok, Khun Chalee, because apparently the owners of the company don't have any documents about Ample Rich, either.

And as Penzman asked... Where IS the bossman, not the junior-vice-sub-assistant-deputy of SEC?

The first Ample Rich, which is registered in the British Virgin Islands and owned by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s son Panthongtae, came to light after the Shinawatra children failed to notify the SEC of a share transfer that took place days before the family sold its 49.6-percent stake in Shin Corp for 73.3 billion baht to the Singapore-controlled Temasek Holdings. Democrat lawmaker Korbsak Sabhavasu revealed the existence of a second Ample Rich Investments earlier this week following his own investigation into the Shin Corp share transfers.

Korbsak discovered the discrepancy when looking at documents Shin provided to the Commerce Ministry in 2001 concerning major shareholders. In a filing dated February 12, 2001, Ample Rich did not appear as a major shareholder of Shin. But in another filing nearly three months later on April 30, 2001, the Ample Rich registered in the British Virgin Islands held 22.9 million Shin shares and the British-registered Ample Rich held another 10 million shares.

Kudos to Khun Korbsak (tongue-twister?) for doing the background and legwork the SEC is SUPPOSED to be doing, since Day 1, by investigating this scandal.

The Commerce Ministry document, posted on Korbsak’s website, contradicts previous information given by Suvarn Valaisathien, a tax expert representing the Shinawatra and Damapong families, in a presentation last week. Suvarn mentioned only one firm named Ample Rich, which Thaksin set up in 1999 to hold 32.92 million Shin shares and subsequently sold to Panthongtae on December 1, 2000.

When contacted yesterday, Suvarn said: “I am not in a position to answer. Thank you and goodbye.”

HAHAHAHAHA.... for "The Best Tax Attorney In Thailand"... he's all of sudden turned into a man of few words!!

Any investigation into Ample Rich 2 will likely center on what happened to those 32.92 million Shin shares between December 2000 and April 2001, when Ample Rich – under Panthongtae’s ownership – ostensibly sold the shares and then reacquired them with two separate companies using the same name. Thaksin was sworn in as prime minister on February 9, 2001, and did not list Ample Rich on his constitutionally required assets declaration.

The SEC has nearly wrapped up its investigation into the shareholding changes regarding the initial Ample Rich and found that Panthongtae and Pinthongtae, Thaksin’s daughter, appear to have violated articles 246 and 247 of the Securities and Exchange Act, which deal with notification of shareholding changes and mandatory tender offers. Offenders may be thrown in jail for up to two years or face a base fine of 500,000 baht and a further 10,000 baht fine for every day the violation

continues.

To heck with any fine, as they could easily just put a billion baht fine on their MasterCard... we want to see them little cuties behind bars...

In this case, the fine levied on the Shinawatra children could climb to about 20 million baht. The SEC has never thrown anyone in prison for these violations.

Chalee said the SEC is still waiting for official documents from the Shinawatras before issuing the fines. If the children admit to wrongdoing, the fine would be imposed; if they dispute the SEC’s findings, the case will likely go to court.

Khun Chalee!!.... why are you only saying fines?? If the LAW prescribes for jail time, pursue a jail case with the authorities against them. They are dissing you hard by not following your boss's directives AND the LAW...they're snubbing their upturned noses at you... They're making a fool of you.....They're making you lose face.... SOOOOO go ahead, make 'em see the light and put them in with the rapists that they are.

As for the second Ample Rich, Chalee said that the SEC would be looking to see if further violations of articles 246 and 247 had occurred. Article 246 requires a party to notify the SEC if more than five percent of the total shares change hands, while Article 247 requires a mandatory tender offer if one party owns 25 percent or more of the total shares.

Analysts were immediately unsure of why the company was created. The most cited reason could be that “farangs with black hair” who set up offshore accounts want to make it look as if foreigners are purchasing shares in Thai companies when the share prices are dropping.

“I don’t have the faintest idea what Khun Thaksin is doing there,” said Amarej Singranong, head of research at Adkinson Securities. “We can assume that the owners of the stock were trying to help the share price. But I don’t know why they would need to go all the way to England to do that.”

Korbsak also could not come up with a clear reason for the need to create Ample Rich 2, but speculated that the company may have been used to manipulate the share price or hide some money. The lawmaker called on the SEC to investigate the share transfers to see if insider trading occurred or capital gains taxes were required.

The SEC ruled last week that insider trading did not occur when Ample Rich transferred 329.2 million shares at one baht apiece to Panthongtae and Pinthongta.

If the second Ample Rich was also owned by the children, then they would presumably not be guilty of insider trading – but Korbsak wants the truth to come out.

“We are begging the SEC to investigate,” he said in an interview yesterday. “We are not investigators. I’m embarrassed to live in a country where the authorities do not investigate and just keep quiet. They have to wait until I expose this before they investigate. But why do they have to wait?”

AAAAA-MEN!

Source: ThaiDay - 9 February 2006 14:22

[ratcatcher]

The P.M. said a few weeks ago that he had never broken the law.

For weeks now, the daily news has been all about this man's self aggrandizement. I suggest that over 70% of Thais are either ignorant of what is going on or have such little information that their judgement is clouded.

Since this man came to power, due to the inherent corruption within the government system, hundreds if not thousands of his cronies and accomplices as well as his own close family have grown obscenely wealthy(Amply Rich?) at the expense of the average Thai citizen.

I would like to start a list here of scandals that have greatly affected Thailand,it's reputation in the world and the Thai people.

Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The CTX Bomb Scanner purchase.

The Chiang Mai Night Safari.

The MRTA Subway Construction.

The Longan Sale.

Illegal logging.

Dam projects.

Rice Trading Scandals.

Illegal land encroachment, especially on coastal property.

The aftermathof the tsunami. Where did all the money go?

Perhaps other posters can add to this litany.

I agree Thailand is better off today than say 10 years ago but at what social cost. Since Thailand is a constitutional monarchy with a wonderful King who truly loves his people and in return is adored by all Thais, it is strange to me that a majority of Thai people see no wrong in the actions of their elected leaders.

Financially,the country may be doing OK but morally, it has lost the plot.

Greed, lies, deceit, drunkenness, gambling are all accepted as part of everyday life.

Surely this is not what Buddha taught.

Since the elected leader of the land is a Buddhist, I wonder how he sleeps at night.

Edited February 9, 2006 by ratcatcher

[stumonster]

In a filing dated February 12, 2001, Ample Rich did not appear as a major shareholder of Shin. But in another filing nearly three months later on April 30, 2001, the Ample Rich registered in the British Virgin Islands held 22.9 million Shin shares and the British-registered Ample Rich held another 10 million shares.

firm named Ample Rich, which Thaksin set up in 1999 to hold 32.92 million Shin shares

which means either , all the shares which resided with ample rich in 1999 were sold/transferred elsewhere until they were regained prior to april 30 2001 , or , shin has been filing information that contains complete porkies for quite a long time .

hoisted by his own incompetance???

[phuketsiam]

Heng

thanks for your replies, I appreciate it, not saying I agree with you, but understand more where you are coming from

Cheers

[lung]

Plenty of shady deals at Ample Rich

Transactions since 1999 all unreported

NUNTAWUN POLKUAMDEE

Ample Rich Investments conducted numerous unreported transactions involving shares of Shin Corp from 1999 to the present, resulting in possible violations of money laundering, tax, securities and anti-corruption laws, according to the opposition Democrat Party. Ample Rich was established by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on June 11, 1999 in the British Virgin Islands with capital of .

The company later bought 32.92 million shares of Shin Corp from Mr Thaksin at 10 baht per share. Mr Thaksin said the deal was for a planned Shin listing on the Nasdaq exchange.

Suvarn Valaisathien, a tax expert and spokesman for the Shinawatra family, earlier this month insisted that Ample Rich had made no transactions from 1999 to this past January.

But Democrat MPs Korn Chatikavanij and Sirichoke Sopa yesterday said Ample Rich had actually conducted numerous transactions offshore with securities broker Vickers Ballas & Co, PTE and UBS AG Bank in Singapore.

A second company, also called Ample Rich Investments but registered in the UK, had also been found to have received Shin shares from the original 1999 sale by Mr Thaksin, the Democrats claimed.

Ample Rich and its transactions with Mr Thaksin's children Panthongtae and Pinthongta Shinawatra are under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for possible disclosure, tender offer and insider trading violations.

Mr Thaksin said earlier this month that the Shin shares had been transferred to his two children prior to his entering politics in 2001.

On Jan 20, Mr Panthongtae and Ms Pinthongta bought 392 million Shin shares from Ample Rich for one baht each. The shares represent the original 32.92 million shares sold by Mr Thaksin in 1999 after allowing for Shin's 10:1 share split in 2001.

The Shinawatra children on Jan 23 then sold off the Shin stake to Singapore's Temasek Holdings for 49.25 baht per share.

But Mr Korn said prior claims that Ample Rich had made no transactions over the past six years were false.

He said in 2000, Ample Rich reduced its Shin stake by 10 million shares to 22.92 million, with Vickers Ballas in Singapore taking a 11.56-million-share stake.

''This transaction was not reported to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, and it is uncertain whether Vickers Ballas made the deal in Ample Rich's name or not,'' Mr Korn said, adding that it was likely that the two were held by the same owner.

The transactions resulted in Ample Rich and Vickers Ballas holding 34.48 million Shin Corp shares total.

On Sept 1, 2000, Mr Panthongtae raised his total Shin stake to 73.395 million shares, including the indirect holdings through Ample Rich and Vickers Ballas. A 246-2 report was submitted to the SEC.

From April 10 to July 31, 2001, Ample Rich maintained its 22.92 million shares in Shin, but the 10 million shares from Vickers Ballas went to UK-registered Ample Rich Investments Limited.

At the same time, UBS AG Singapore ended up with 5.396 million shares. Overall, total Shin shareholdings overseas was 38.316 million shares, all unreported to local authorities.

Mr Korn said on Aug 21, 2001, the British Virgin Islands-registered Ample Rich continued to maintain its 22.92 million shares, but holdings of the UK-registered Ample Rich had fallen to zero. At the same time, UBS raised its stake to 15.405 million shares, increasing the total held overseas to 38.325 million shares.

In a filing dated Aug 24, 2001, UBS reported to the SEC that it had purchased 10 million Shin shares for 179 baht per share, representing the stake from the UK Ample Rich.

''The question is that if this was all made by the same owner, why were these sales necessary? And if it was an actual sale, where did the money go and who paid for it,'' Mr Korn asked.

Democrat MPs Korn Chatikavanij (left) and Sirichoke Sopa submit evidence to the Revenue Department alleging unpaid taxes on transactions by Ample Rich. — PHRAKRIT JUNTAWONG

In September 2001, Shin announced a 10:1 share split, resulting in the original 32.92 million shares at Ample Rich increasing to 329.2 million, with a par value of one baht per share.

By Oct 22, 2001, Ample Rich continued to hold 229.2 million Shin shares, based on the new par value, with UBS raising its stake to 155.16 million. Total shares held overseas increased to 383.36 million, with no disclosure made to the authorities.

The Democrat Party said by Aug 30, 2004, Ample Rich held no Shin shares, but that holdings with UBS had increased to 353.3 million. On Mar 11, 2005, UBS holdings had increased to 372.4 million shares, and then to 390.9 million by Aug 26 of the same year.

The last transaction came on Jan 20 of this year, when Mr Panthongtae and Ms Pinthongta purchased 329.2 million Shin shares at one baht par value, equalling the original number of shares sold by Mr Thaksin to Ample Rich six years earlier.

''We have sent the results of our investigation into the various transactions to the SEC for further action,'' Mr Korn said.

''The SEC is being very diligent, particularly with the new information about the existence of a second Ample Rich.''

Mr Korn said over the past six years, the various transactions had mostly gone unreported, a violation of SEC regulations.

The Democrats yesterday also submitted information to the Revenue Department about possible tax evasion.

''The 2001 share purchase by UBS at 179 baht per share was definitely not made at par value, and the proceeds representing taxable income under Section 39 of the tax code. We estimate the tax liabilities at three to four billion baht,'' Democrat MP Sirichoke said.

Mr Korn said that Mr Thaksin's claim that all shares of Ample Rich had been sold to his son Panthongtae on Dec 1, 2000 was unreported to the SEC, a violation of Section 246 of the SEC Act.

Mr Panthongtae's sale of a 20% stake in Ample Rich to his sister on Sept 9, 2004 similarly was not reported, also a securities violation as their direct and indirect holdings in Shin shares was affected.

''The question is, who was the actual owner of these Shin shares,'' Mr Korn asked.

Mr Thaksin could face removal from office if he was found to have concealed assets and had failed to make required disclosures of his assets to the National Counter-Corruption Commission, Mr Korn added.

''And once Shin scrapped its Nasdaq listing plan, why didn't they transfer the shares back to Thailand? What was the need to maintain Ample Rich? And how was this money, an estimated 1.79 billion baht, transferred out of the country,'' he said.

Chalee Chantanayingyong, the SEC senior assistant secretary-general, said the transactions and documents submitted by the Democrat Party would be closely scrutinised.

The SEC was waiting for additional information from Mr Panthongtae and Ms Pinthongta involving Ample Rich over the past six years, and had also contacted overseas regulators for co-operation.

[Heng]

Now, let me change the question a litte bit. If the innocent person was your son, then it'd be your problem.

True, but unlike you, I'm of the school that would rather let the guilty man walk free. Since you're of the school that would rather see the innocent killed, I'd say it's more you're problem than mine.

And when did I say that? By your logic, I can conclude that you're the type of person that wants drug dealers on the street and children smoking ya baa.

[kat]

True, but unlike you, I'm of the school that would rather let the guilty man walk free. Since you're of the school that would rather see the innocent killed, I'd say it's more you're problem than mine.

And regardless, again I'd like to reiterate that the executions of the dealers (on my street, and those of relatives at least) were dead on accurate without loss of innocent lives.

Exactly! Do you remember the story at that time about the Thai family that had won the lottery but hadn't told any of the neighbours? Neighbours had reported them to the police after noticing they were spending a bit more, immediately thinking they were drug dealers...

Precisely! As well as the 9 year old boy who was killed in a hail of police bullets sprayed at a car.

Eureka! And how about the more than 1,000 people that came forward to sue the governement because of false accusations and lack of due process during Thaksin's extrajudicial, vigilante quest!

Heng, by the logic of your comments, you'd pull the trigger first and not even bother to investigate later based on hearsay, accusations, and blacklists. Imagine if they used a similar mode of crackdown on "corrupt, influential forces" - oh nevermind; there'd be no one left to run the government or buy up all the land reserved for the poor.

[Heng]

Heng

thanks for your replies, I appreciate it, not saying I agree with you, but understand more where you are coming from

Cheers

No worries, but I'm not saying I agree with you either.

[kat]

And there'd be no one left to forge land documents either, or no one left to give bribes for said forged documents.

I wish there was a crackdown on hypocrites

[Heng]

True, but unlike you, I'm of the school that would rather let the guilty man walk free. Since you're of the school that would rather see the innocent killed, I'd say it's more you're problem than mine.

And regardless, again I'd like to reiterate that the executions of the dealers (on my street, and those of relatives at least) were dead on accurate without loss of innocent lives.

Exactly! Do you remember the story at that time about the Thai family that had won the lottery but hadn't told any of the neighbours? Neighbours had reported them to the police after noticing they were spending a bit more, immediately thinking they were drug dealers...

Precisely! As well as the 9 year old boy who was killed in a hail of police bullets sprayed at a car.

Eureka! And how about the more than 1,000 people that came forward to sue the governement because of false accusations and lack of due process during Thaksin's extrajudicial, vigilante quest!

Heng, by the logic of your comments, you'd pull the trigger first and not even bother to investigate later based on hearsay, accusations, and blacklists. Imagine if they used a similar mode of crackdown on "corrupt, influential forces" - oh nevermind; there'd be no one left to run the government or buy up all the land reserved for the poor.

I'd rather pull the trigger AFTER investigating but BEFORE having to write a thousand page report wrapped in a hundred rolls of red tape only to discover that the person must be aquitted (after living on state funds for X years though) because we used the wrong brand of tape. And as mentioned earlier, if the rights of those dear to me ever came close to being infringed upon, I'd be one of the first to take action. So far though, I've only seen fair play of one brand or the other here in the LOS.

And there'd be no one left to forge land documents either, or no one left to give bribes for said forged documents.

I wish there was a crackdown on hypocrites

Surely you're not implying that I forge land documents? As for bribes, the only ones I pay are 500 Baht for express service when I'm at the land department doing 100% legal land/building/house transfers. Yes, it saves me from waiting 1-4 hours like most folks, but hardly criminal.

[kat]

No, Heng, I'm not implying that you personally forge land documents. How could I - I don't know you!

What I'm saying is that the encroachment of public and set-aside land for poor farmers is routinely swallowed up by rich "influential" figures. These must be the same people who hire gunmen to kill the activists that then protest about it.

I don't think any justice system is perfect, but any "leader" that can kill just under 3,000 people without a proper arrest, investiagation, trial, or so much as a forensic post-examination is a threat - not a savior - to a lawful society.

[Plus]

Problem is it ISN'T a lawful society. They make laws to appear advanced, not to follow them.

Even western educated Heng doesn't feel that it's wrong to shoot 20-30 people in his neighbourhood without trials.

How can you argue with that? You need some common values to have a meaningful discussion.

[dan10400]

Now, let me change the question a litte bit. If the innocent person was your son, then it'd be your problem.

True, but unlike you, I'm of the school that would rather let the guilty man walk free. Since you're of the school that would rather see the innocent killed, I'd say it's more you're problem than mine.

And when did I say that? By your logic, I can conclude that you're the type of person that wants drug dealers on the street and children smoking ya baa.

Did it ever occur to you the problem was in the police force? Either corruption, incompetence

or a combination of either? Doesn't sound like the type of people that should be given a

shoot-first mandate.

but back to the central issue...

From a legal prespective, if Taksin had dotted i's and crossed t's, he could have pulled off

this technically pulled off this tax-free "innovation in corrpution" (someone elses quote). it

doesn't matter to me that his children were shareholders and were technically voted those

shares are not, as long as they said.

of course he lacks a moral leg to stand on and did nothing but soil what was left of his name.

and it is becoming clearer by the day, that not only was the ball dropped in executing the

deal, but also for Taksin upholding his committments to the Thai constitution and people.

and it is the thai constitution and people that will endure in one form or another after Taksin

is gone - whether it is next week or three years from now or longer. for the SET, it will

be important to investigate openly that the transaction was legit as the transaction as they

already have appeared to have dealt with the transaction in a biased manner by waiving

the tender offer requirements. same for allegations of insider trading. for the constitutional

court, it is important to investigate and determine if all these holding companies (wherever

and whatever) did not constitute asset concealment. for the collective PMs, they need to

appear to grow some balls.

just as in the case of the ineffectiveness of the police force for addressing drug sales on

your soi which should have been addressed the police and criminal court system, for the

betterment of the institution. in the case of the SET and constitutional court, it is a matter

of saving what is left of their reputation. Not sure there is hope for Thaksin.

just opinions, not cartoons.

regards,

--dan

[Heng]

I look at it from the point of view that it's a WAR on drugs... not a lawsuit, movement, or protest against drugs.

[Plus]

Right, all you need is to call it a "war" and then killing people becomes justified. Of course we take your word for it when you say that all victims were genuine drug dealers who deserved capital punishment.

Talking of which - Thailand hasn't executed a single criminal since 2003. Lots of folks get pardoned and their sentences commuted to life in prison.

Anyway, it's off topic.

Will SET have the balls to investigate Ample Rich/es? What can it do if the kids decide to ignore requests for documents? If it does nothing, its reputation will be severy damaged. Who will make a decision - go after Taksin or accept the loss of international face?

No one owns SET, no one unltimately gives a toss about it. People in charge might simply choose to retire peacefully.

[phuketsiam]

Heng

thanks for your replies, I appreciate it, not saying I agree with you, but understand more where you are coming from

Cheers

No worries, but I'm not saying I agree with you either.

Thats OK, if everyone agreed on everything it would be a pretty boring world

BTW I think the War on Drugs did kill a lot of innocent people, thats the purpose of due process, to reduce those risks, I have heard you say before its collateral damage (like in the Iraq war), but how much collateral damage was there, and has the drug problem really been solved, was the price worth paying, how many major players paid the price or were even put out of business for more than a few months. IMO the war on drugs in Thailand did not significantly reduce the drug problem, it did however get rid a lot of compatition for the senior police and army officials who profit from a lot of it, and some of the murders (and thats what they are) meant certain names would not be brought up in police interrogation, even if those murdered were criminals this still defeats the object of a drug clean up, for that to work effectively the top dogs have be brought to trial not the foot solders, they are easily replaced.

[Heng]

I'm not trying to convince anyone that all those killed were indeed drug dealers. I am however convinced that my neighborhood is a better place because of the cleanup and those killed were indeed dealers. I had nothing against them, and certainly am not someone who would turn criminals in (as due process simply doesn't work here for those with even the most minor connections... but hey, that's not important in a perfect world academic debate, eh?), but I was aware of their profession, in the same way I know where the 7-11 is, who sells snacks and souvenirs, who owns the internet cafes, who runs the paint shop, and who was dealing. All but the latter are still alive and well and doing business as usual. RIP

[Heng]

The local banks could help to educate (starting with higher net worth customers) locals that holding funds offshore isn't all that shady and is a viable investment option for anyone who wishes to keep funds/shares abroad for whatever reason. Thais can even do so in Thai banks. Bank of Ayuddya, Kasikorn Bank, and Bangkok Bank (last I heard anyway, and I assume all of the bigger banks as well) all have offices on Grand Cayman and can surely advise/provide counsel. IMO way too many people keep all their savings in one place and when they hear of things like this Ample Rich thing, it sounds so alien and automatically the alarm bells go up (when in fact the mechanism is already in place for locals to do the same through Thai banks).

[penzman]

Right, all you need is to call it a "war" and then killing people becomes justified. Of course we take your word for it when you say that all victims were genuine drug dealers who deserved capital punishment.

Talking of which - Thailand hasn't executed a single criminal since 2003. Lots of folks get pardoned and their sentences commuted to life in prison.

Anyway, it's off topic.

Will SET have the balls to investigate Ample Rich/es? What can it do if the kids decide to ignore requests for documents? If it does nothing, its reputation will be severy damaged. Who will make a decision - go after Taksin or accept the loss of international face?

No one owns SET, no one unltimately gives a toss about it. People in charge might simply choose to retire peacefully.

The outcome will, like always, be a farce.

Circus clowns are running the show!

[sriracha john]

Problem is it ISN'T a lawful society. They make laws to appear advanced, not to follow them.

Even western educated Heng doesn't feel that it's wrong to shoot 20-30 people in his neighbourhood without trials.

How can you argue with that? You need some common values to have a meaningful discussion.

You know, I was going to take issue with Heng's assertion, but then, as you succinctly put it... How can I? It would be pointless to have a discussion without the shared value that people shouldn't be murdered willy-nilly in the streets. Thank you for saving me from the trouble of wasting my time, Plus...

I'm not trying to convince anyone that all those killed were indeed drug dealers. I am however convinced that my neighborhood is a better place because of the cleanup and those killed were indeed dealers. I had nothing against them, and certainly am not someone who would turn criminals in (as due process simply doesn't work here for those with even the most minor connections... but hey, that's not important in a perfect world academic debate, eh?), but I was aware of their profession, in the same way I know where the 7-11 is, who sells snacks and souvenirs, who owns the internet cafes, who runs the paint shop, and who was dealing. All but the latter are still alive and well and doing business as usual. RIP

news flash, Heng..... they're simply doing the same job more covertly 2 blocks over...

[sriracha john]

Anyhoooo.... back on topic:

Rebuttal spawns even more questions

Shinawatra family lawyer Suvarn Valaisathien rebutted the Democrats yesterday by denying that an English twin of Ample Rich Investments Ltd was involved in trading Shin Corp stocks.

“It is groundless [to say] that the second Ample Rich sold 10 million shares of Shin Corp to UBS of Singapore in 2001 for Bt179 a share, as claimed. We would like to refute this story,” he said in a statement.

Suvarn said there is only one Ample Rich, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, which held 32.92 million Shin Corp shares, or 329.2 million shares after Shin’s share split between 1999 and January this year.

However, he admitted that Ample Rich had changed its broker and custodian, resulting in a transfer of the Shin Corp stocks from one account to another. Ample Rich, he added, held the Shin Corp stocks through a scripless system, managed by the Share Depository Centre.

“Vickers Ballas and Co Pte Ltd and UBS AG Singapore Branch simply acted as a broker or custodian. In this particular case, Ample Rich changed its broker from Vikers Ballas to UBS,” he said.

On Wednesday, Korn Chati-kavanij of the Democrat Party urged the authorities to investigate the Shinawatra family for possible money laundering, asset concealment and tax evasion over its sale of Shin Corp shares. He provided details of a complicated web of transactions by Ample Rich, involving the Shin Corp stocks, ahead of the company’s takeover by Temasek Holdings of Singapore.

He claimed there was another Ample Rich with an English nationality, which had a different address from the Ample Rich incorporated in the British Virgin Islands. He said that Ample Rich transferred 11.56 million shares of Shin Corp to Vickers Ballas in July 2000, leaving it holding only 22.92 million shares.

In April 2001, Vickers Ballas transferred 10 million shares of Shin Corp to Ample Rich (English) and another 5.396 million shares to UBS AG Singapore Branch. That same year UBS reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it had bought 10 million shares of Shin Corp from Ample Rich (English) at Bt179 a share, with a value totalling Bt1.79 billion.

Korn questioned the whereabouts of this huge amount of money, which should have been reported to the Thai authorities.

Korn posed a number of questions following Suvarn’s statement. First, if Suvarn’s assertions are correct then why did only 10 million shares from Ample Rich appear in Vickers and, later, UBS’s names – why not all of it?

Second, the second Ample Rich did appear on the share register and had a different Singapore office address than the first Ample Rich. Why was this the case?

Third, UBS filed a 246-2 form with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 21, 2001 saying it had bought 10 million shares of Shin Corp at Bt179 apiece. Furthermore the firm said it made the transaction through the stock exchange. Why was there a need to record a transaction if UBS was just a custodian?

Fourth, if UBS and Ample Rich were the same people, why was there a financial transaction of Bt1.79 billion and where did the money come from and go to?

He called on Suvarn to show physical evidence of ownership of Ample Rich, the Vickers account and the UBS account.

Moreover, Korn said it has been found that UBS’s shareholding in Shin Corp increased step by step from 35.33 per cent in August 2004 to 37.24 per cent in March 2005 and to 39.09 per cent in August 2005.

He questioned whether there was any insider trading involved and also queried the source of money to buy the shares offshore.

“Who did Panthongtae (Thaksin’s son and at various times a major shareholder in Shin and owner of Ample Rich) authorise to negotiate the sale of his shares?” he asked. “Where is the evidence of this authorisation?”

Meanwhile, Anti-Money Laundering Office secretary-general Peeraphan Prempooti said the share transactions of Ample Rich do not fall within the anti-money laundering law, so his office would not investigate them.

“This is the direct responsibility of the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate within its laws, he said.

Asked whether the AMLO would investigate the money flow of Ample Rich in the same way as it followed that of Picnic Corp, Peeraphan said his agency has not yet received any request for cooperation from the SEC.

[sriracha john]

Major Blunder Reveals Dubious Transactions

The Ample Rich scandal is proving to be Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s Achilles’ heel. If he could turn the clock back, Thaksin would certainly want to sell Shin Corp to Singapore’s Temasek Holdings in a subtler way to avoid the suspicious eyes of th

If Thaksin ends up falling from power, he could only have himself to blame for mishandling the Shin sale. Ample Rich is a case of Thaksin shooting himself in his foot.

To begin with, if the Shinawatra and Damapong families had made public their intention to sell 38-39 per cent of Shin to Temasek, they might have gotten away with it. Ample Rich Investments Ltd, which was set up by Thaksin and held about 10 per cent of Shin’s share capital, could have waited to sell its stake later, along with other minority shareholders, during Temasek’s takeover tender for all of Shin.

Then nobody would have noticed Ample Rich’s presence.

But the Shinawatra and Damapong families made a serious blunder. They offered to sell to Temasek their entire combined 49.6-per-cent stake to Temasek in one fell swoop. This led Ample Rich, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands, to emerge from the shadows. And when Ample Rich reported it had sold 164.6 million shares each to Panthongtae and Pinthongta Shinawatra, two of the prime minister’s children, for Bt1 apiece, that raised people’s eyebrows. That was especially so, as the next day Panthongtae and Pinthongta sold those same shares to Temasek for Bt49.25 each, for a combined Bt15-billion profit.

These were very dubious transactions, ones that ordinary people would never do. People began to ask: “Who the hel_l is Ample Rich?”

Korbsak Sabhavasu of the Democrat Party, who played a prominent role during episode one of Thaksin’s alleged assets concealment, started to dig for information. And bingo! He discovered that as of last August 26, Pinthongta held 440 million shares in Shin Corp, compared with 293.95 million shares held by Panthongtae. But on January 23, Pinthongta reported to have sold 604.6 million shares to Temasek, compared with 458.55 million shares sold by Panthongtae. Ample Rich must belong to someone in the Shinawatra family, he suspected. If so, had Thaksin properly reported his assets to the National Counter Corruption Commission?

Lawyer Suvarn Valaisathien came to the Shinawatras’ rescue. His story was that Thaksin set up Ample Rich in March 1999 with capital of only US$1 (Bt39.50 today) before transferring 32.92 million shares (par value of Bt10) of Shin Corp to this shell company. In December 2000, before entering politics, Thaksin sold all of Ample Rich to Panthongtae, who bought it for only $1, even though it was worth much more than its capital, because it held 32.92 million shares of Shin Corp. Last May, Ample Rich raised its capital to $5, paving the way for Pinthongta to become a 20-per-cent shareholder.

Since Panthongtae and Pinthongta were Ample Rich shareholders, they could not break any insider-trading regulations, because Ample Rich’s sale of Shin Corp’s stocks to Panthongtae and Pinthongta would represent only a switch of money from the left pocket to the right. Since Ample Rich had bought the stocks from Thaksin at par value of Bt10 each and sold them to the kids at par value of Bt1 (Shin Corp went through a 10-to-1 share split), no taxes would be involved.

That was Suvarn’s version of the Ample Rich saga. But Korbsak came up with a totally different story. He uncovered that Ample Rich had an English twin, also called Ample Rich but incorporated as an English company. Ample Rich (English) was found to have held 10 million Shin shares, while the remaining 22 million were held by Ample Rich (British Virgin Islands). These 10 million shares were traded on the stock market for profit. And before Temasek’s takeover of Shin Corp, Ample Rich (British Virgin Islands), about five or six months ago, bought back the stock to create a camouflage that Ample Rich had been holding the 32.92 million shares – or 329.2 million shares after the share split – all along, as a passive shareholder.

He questioned where the money from the share trading had gone and why the amount was not properly reported to the authorities.

Korn Chatikavanij, of the Democrat Party, did some digging of his own and arrived at a similar conclusion. First, he said the 10 million shares had been taken out of the original 32.92 million of Ample Rich and parked at Singaporean broker Vickers Ballas before they were moved to Ample Rich (English) and UBS AG Singapore. This would facilitate trading of the Shin stocks.

Second, on August 21, 2001, Ample Rich (English) sold 10 million Shin Corp stocks to UBS AG Singapore at Bt179 apiece, for a total of Bt1.79 billion. Korn questioned the whereabouts of the money from this transaction.

Third, Thaksin had said, on December 1, 1999, that he had sold all of his Ample Rich shares to Panthongtae. Korn asked why this transaction was not officially reported to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Failure to do so is a possible violation of Article 246 of SEC regulations. Panthongtae also failed to report his sale of Shin Corp stocks to Pinthongta through her holding of Ample Rich (a possible violation of Article 246). Who then, really, was the owner of Ample Rich?

These are not easy questions to answer, as they are complicated transactions executed over a period of six years. Panthongtae and Pinthongta have yet to supply any evidence of their relationship with Ample Rich to the SEC, as requested. Thaksin could not have imagined that Ample Rich would pose a problem for him.

If the SEC were to seriously investigate the paper trail of offshore transactions of Shin stocks by Ample Rich, it would certainly find a clue. And UBS AG Singapore holds the key, because it would have all the records of the money flow.

The Nation

[Plus]

Everyone knows that it's Taksin's money, not his children's, everyone knows that he parked his money in BVI and then shamelessly preached that keeping offshore companies is unpatriotic, now everyone knows that Ample Rich traded shares even if their lawer said the stocks were idle. Everyone knows that none of this transactions - changing company ownership or share transfers, or sales, were duly reported to SET. They must have borken a dozen of regulations, some might be even criminal offences.

Now is there anyone at SET or SEC who can enforce these regulations on Shinawatra family? I bet no one wants to touch this case with a pole. SET will have to get used to live with a pile of steaming shit lying right in the middle of trading area.

And, btw, I like how Bangkok Post Database call it now - "Shingapore Corp".

[sriracha john]

Bangkok Herald-Examiner

To commemorate and immortalize the largest trade in it's history, the Stock Exchange of Thailand proudly unveiled this new monument that will be centrally located on the trading floor as a testament to it's ability to attract top-quality, world-class traders.

Titled “Shint”, it was constructed from all-natural products and was crafted by famed sculptor, Dump A. Load.

[kat]

I'm not trying to convince anyone that all those killed were indeed drug dealers. I am however convinced that my neighborhood is a better place because of the cleanup and those killed were indeed dealers. I had nothing against them, and certainly am not someone who would turn criminals in (as due process simply doesn't work here for those with even the most minor connections... but hey, that's not important in a perfect world academic debate, eh?), but I was aware of their profession, in the same way I know where the 7-11 is, who sells snacks and souvenirs, who owns the internet cafes, who runs the paint shop, and who was dealing. All but the latter are still alive and well and doing business as usual. RIP

Well, I'm sure that the people whose brains were spilled out onto the streets for all to see including their children in some cases, without an investigation or trial, would argue that it was quite concrete, and not academic at all; of course, this is assuming that they or anyone would be able to investigate or argue their case if they were around - that's the academic part.

I could go on - innocent people who take the fall for "minor connected" people; activists that are murdered for taking a stand; an endless supply of corrupt politicians and the entire institution of law enforcemnt and the judiciary. And since the demand for public institutions to actually do their jobs has never been heeded, they don't.

One could argue that the constitution and entire premise of governance in this country is academic, because nothing is enforced thanks to very rich, well-connected, influential figures.