Thaksin, wife to face corruption charges in a week

(BangkokPost.com)

Assets Scrutiny Committee (ASC) has resolved to charge ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra and his wife Khunying Potjaman with concealing their assets.

The ASC, after long deliberations, resolved Monday evening to endorse an ASC sub-committee finding that both Thaksin and wife used nominees to conceal their shares in Shin Corp, which was considered violating the constitution and the National Counter Corruption Act, according to ASC spokesman Sak Korsaengruang.

Charges should be filed within a week, the ASC statement said.

"Thaksin and Khunying Pojaman stated they had already divested Shin Corp shares to their family members before holding key political positions but actually we found out that they just transferred shares to their children using Ample Rich as a nominee."


Mr Sak said the ASC also resolved during the meeting to freeze Thaksin's son Panthongthae's four pieces of land in Pakchong District, Nakhon Ratchasima province. The committee found out that he used the money earned from Shin Corp shares sales to buy those pieces of land.

Earlier in the day, the Criminal Court has acquitted ASC chairman Nam Yimyaem and five staff members of Thai Post newspaper from a defamation lawsuit filed by wife of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra, Khunying Potjaman.

Potjaman claimed the six had colluded in providing false information on the Ratchadaphisek land purchase scandal in order to tarnish her reputation.

The court reached its decision after deliberating that Potjaman had violated certain terms of the constitution which stipulates that the spouse of a prime minister or any other politician is prohibited from signing a government-backed contract.

The court also stressed that any assets obtained from the signing of the contract shall be confiscated, in this case, the Ratchadapisek piece of land which Thaksin Shinawatra helped his wife acquire while he was the prime minister.