Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, right, and his wife, Pojaman, left, pose with their youngest daughter Paethongtarn Shinawatra after her university graduation ceremony, Thursday, July 10, 2008, in Bangkok, Thailand. (AP Photo) By Sutin Wannabovorn
Associated Press Writer / July 11, 2008
BANGKOK, Thailand—Thai prosecutors filed new corruption charges against ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Friday for alleged abuse of authority to benefit his family business.
The Attorney General's Office filed the charges in the Supreme Court over changes made in 2003 to a payments system for state-owned enterprises that benefited Thaksin's family-owned mobile phone company, Deputy Attorney General Waiyawut Toetrakun said.
The filing came as a series of legal cases against the former prime minister, toppled in a 2006 military coup, appeared to be gaining momentum, with a ruling on one expected at the end of the month.
The charges Friday said Thaksin ordered a Cabinet resolution in 2003 to change concession fees paid by mobile phone companies to state telecommunications enterprises.
The fees were converted into a simple tax, which was lower.
Advanced Info Service, a subsidiary of Shin Corp., a telecom conglomerate owned by Thaksin's family until early 2006, benefited the most because as the biggest mobile operator it had been paying the largest concession fees.
"The result of the investigation found that the suspect has abused (his) authority" to benefit his family's company, the charges said. The changes caused financial losses to two state-owned telecommunications enterprises, they said.
The case is the eighth against Thaksin and members of his family that has gone to court out of a total of 24. The others are still with police or the attorney general's office.
Among other cases, the Supreme Court began to hear testimonies Tuesday from witnesses in the trial of Thaksin and his wife on charges related to her purchase of Bangkok real estate when he was prime minister. The court is to rule July 31 on separate charges of tax evasion against his wife.
Several high-profile court rulings this week have targeted top officials in the five-month-old government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, which is filled with Thaksin allies.
On Thursday, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama resigned after being accused of jeopardizing the country's claims to land near an ancient Cambodian temple.
The Thai Constitutional Court had ruled Tuesday that Noppadon acted unconstitutionally when he endorsed Cambodia's application to have the Preah Vihear temple registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site without first consulting Parliament on the matter. Critics fear the endorsement undermines Thailand's claim to land near the temple, which is on the Thai-Cambodian border.
On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court disqualified Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsup from office for violating asset disclosure rules.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court banned a former parliamentary speaker from politics for five years for electoral fraud. The verdict could lead to the eventual dissolution of Samak's People's Power Party if the Constitutional Court decides that Yongyuth Tiyapairat committed the fraud to benefit his party.
A number of senior Thaksin loyalists serve in Samak's government. Before his appointment as foreign minister, Noppadon was Thaksin's top lawyer and spokesman while the former prime minister was in exile after his ouster.
Associated Press Writer / July 11, 2008
BANGKOK, Thailand—Thai prosecutors filed new corruption charges against ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra on Friday for alleged abuse of authority to benefit his family business.
The Attorney General's Office filed the charges in the Supreme Court over changes made in 2003 to a payments system for state-owned enterprises that benefited Thaksin's family-owned mobile phone company, Deputy Attorney General Waiyawut Toetrakun said.
The filing came as a series of legal cases against the former prime minister, toppled in a 2006 military coup, appeared to be gaining momentum, with a ruling on one expected at the end of the month.
The charges Friday said Thaksin ordered a Cabinet resolution in 2003 to change concession fees paid by mobile phone companies to state telecommunications enterprises.
The fees were converted into a simple tax, which was lower.
Advanced Info Service, a subsidiary of Shin Corp., a telecom conglomerate owned by Thaksin's family until early 2006, benefited the most because as the biggest mobile operator it had been paying the largest concession fees.
"The result of the investigation found that the suspect has abused (his) authority" to benefit his family's company, the charges said. The changes caused financial losses to two state-owned telecommunications enterprises, they said.
The case is the eighth against Thaksin and members of his family that has gone to court out of a total of 24. The others are still with police or the attorney general's office.
Among other cases, the Supreme Court began to hear testimonies Tuesday from witnesses in the trial of Thaksin and his wife on charges related to her purchase of Bangkok real estate when he was prime minister. The court is to rule July 31 on separate charges of tax evasion against his wife.
Several high-profile court rulings this week have targeted top officials in the five-month-old government of Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej, which is filled with Thaksin allies.
On Thursday, Foreign Minister Noppadon Pattama resigned after being accused of jeopardizing the country's claims to land near an ancient Cambodian temple.
The Thai Constitutional Court had ruled Tuesday that Noppadon acted unconstitutionally when he endorsed Cambodia's application to have the Preah Vihear temple registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site without first consulting Parliament on the matter. Critics fear the endorsement undermines Thailand's claim to land near the temple, which is on the Thai-Cambodian border.
On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court disqualified Public Health Minister Chaiya Sasomsup from office for violating asset disclosure rules.
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court banned a former parliamentary speaker from politics for five years for electoral fraud. The verdict could lead to the eventual dissolution of Samak's People's Power Party if the Constitutional Court decides that Yongyuth Tiyapairat committed the fraud to benefit his party.
A number of senior Thaksin loyalists serve in Samak's government. Before his appointment as foreign minister, Noppadon was Thaksin's top lawyer and spokesman while the former prime minister was in exile after his ouster.
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