http://www.nationmultimedia.com/home/2010/03/23/politics/New-woes-loom-for-Thaksin-30125328.html
New woes loom for Thaksin
By The Nation
Published on March 23, 2010
Department of Special Investigation is 'working on the possibility of reopening the SC Asset case'
As his family prepares to appeal against the seizure of Bt46 billion in the Shin Corp case, ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra may be facing far more damaging criminal charges involving claims of asset concealment and money laundering related to Win Mark and SC Asset.
Charnchai Issarasenarak, chairman of the House Committee on the Prevention and Suppression of Corruption and Malpractice, said the Win Mark/SC Asset case remained active even though the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and the Office of the Attorney-General had earlier agreed not to file charges against Thaksin related to it.
"The House committee has received complaints the decision not to file criminal suits in the SC Asset case was unwarranted, so we have conducted our own investigation," he said.
"From Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] data, we've found both Thaksin and Pojaman Shinawatra [now Pojaman na Pombejra] hired two funds - OGF and ODF - to manage their wealth, with a Malaysian manager.
"In any stock transactions, the Malaysian fund manager had to receive consent from Thaksin and Pojaman first. This means Thaksin and Pojaman did the stock transactions by themselves. This amounted to share concealment and money laundering in the stock market."
THAKSIN 'BENEFICIARY OWNER'
Charnchai said the House committee had summoned a DSI representative to inquire about the matter and was told Thaksin was the beneficiary owner of SC Asset.
Win Mark is one of two offshore companies registered in the British Virgin Islands. The other is the now notorious Ample Rich. Thaksin used Ample Rich to hold Shin stocks in a foreign account and relied on Win Mark to control SC Asset, a property firm listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
SC Asset is Thaksin and Pojaman's nest of wealth. After the sale of Shin, the two diversified their wealth into the property market, using SC Asset as a flagship. Thaksin's sister, Yingluck, is looking after this company as its chairwoman.
If the SC Asset case were to go to court, Thaksin's wealth and legal status could be further shattered.
DSI director-general Tharit Pengdit said he was working on the possibility of reopening the SC Asset case. After consulting the SEC, he will seek further information and documents related to Win Mark and SC Asset from the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders, which ruled on the Bt76-billion assets-seizure case.
"We'd like to reconsider whether it is possible to reopen the SC Asset case after the public prosecutors' decision not to file a criminal suit," Tharit said.
If the authorities agree to proceed, the Win Mark/SC Asset case will be filed as a criminal suit with the Criminal Court. The Bt76-billion Shin assets-seizure case, on the other hand, was a civil suit.
It was found that at the time of Shin's sale to Singapore's Temasek Holdings in January 2006, Win Mark was holding 54 million Shin shares.
A justice-system source said the Supreme Court did not rule on the confiscation of Win Mark's 54 million Shin shares because public prosecutors did not request any action on this share portion in the suit.
"I don't understand why the public prosecutors did not request that the Court confiscate the 54 million Shin shares held by Win Mark. There could be reasons I don't know about, or it could be a mistake on the part of the public prosecutors and the Assets Examination Committee," Tharit said.
"Thaksin was allowed to walk free in this case and continues to own the 54 million Shin shares. He could be deemed to be unusually rich in this case."
In 1993, before SC Asset was listed on the stock market, the Shinawatras notified the SEC they owned 60.82 per cent of shares in SC Asset. But they did not disclose the fact that OGF and ODF also held SC Asset stocks on their behalf.
If this portion were included, the Shinawatras would have reported their combined holding of 79.87 per cent, which exceeded the critical 75-per-cent stake needed to pass major company resolutions.
Chatthip Tanthaprasat, a lawyer representing Thaksin, said the Shinawatras would lodge an appeal by this Friday with the Supreme Court against the ruling that confiscated Bt46 billion worth of the family's assets.
New woes loom for Thaksin
By The Nation
Published on March 23, 2010
Department of Special Investigation is 'working on the possibility of reopening the SC Asset case'
As his family prepares to appeal against the seizure of Bt46 billion in the Shin Corp case, ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra may be facing far more damaging criminal charges involving claims of asset concealment and money laundering related to Win Mark and SC Asset.
Charnchai Issarasenarak, chairman of the House Committee on the Prevention and Suppression of Corruption and Malpractice, said the Win Mark/SC Asset case remained active even though the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and the Office of the Attorney-General had earlier agreed not to file charges against Thaksin related to it.
"The House committee has received complaints the decision not to file criminal suits in the SC Asset case was unwarranted, so we have conducted our own investigation," he said.
"From Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] data, we've found both Thaksin and Pojaman Shinawatra [now Pojaman na Pombejra] hired two funds - OGF and ODF - to manage their wealth, with a Malaysian manager.
"In any stock transactions, the Malaysian fund manager had to receive consent from Thaksin and Pojaman first. This means Thaksin and Pojaman did the stock transactions by themselves. This amounted to share concealment and money laundering in the stock market."
THAKSIN 'BENEFICIARY OWNER'
Charnchai said the House committee had summoned a DSI representative to inquire about the matter and was told Thaksin was the beneficiary owner of SC Asset.
Win Mark is one of two offshore companies registered in the British Virgin Islands. The other is the now notorious Ample Rich. Thaksin used Ample Rich to hold Shin stocks in a foreign account and relied on Win Mark to control SC Asset, a property firm listed on the Stock Exchange of Thailand.
SC Asset is Thaksin and Pojaman's nest of wealth. After the sale of Shin, the two diversified their wealth into the property market, using SC Asset as a flagship. Thaksin's sister, Yingluck, is looking after this company as its chairwoman.
If the SC Asset case were to go to court, Thaksin's wealth and legal status could be further shattered.
DSI director-general Tharit Pengdit said he was working on the possibility of reopening the SC Asset case. After consulting the SEC, he will seek further information and documents related to Win Mark and SC Asset from the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders, which ruled on the Bt76-billion assets-seizure case.
"We'd like to reconsider whether it is possible to reopen the SC Asset case after the public prosecutors' decision not to file a criminal suit," Tharit said.
If the authorities agree to proceed, the Win Mark/SC Asset case will be filed as a criminal suit with the Criminal Court. The Bt76-billion Shin assets-seizure case, on the other hand, was a civil suit.
It was found that at the time of Shin's sale to Singapore's Temasek Holdings in January 2006, Win Mark was holding 54 million Shin shares.
A justice-system source said the Supreme Court did not rule on the confiscation of Win Mark's 54 million Shin shares because public prosecutors did not request any action on this share portion in the suit.
"I don't understand why the public prosecutors did not request that the Court confiscate the 54 million Shin shares held by Win Mark. There could be reasons I don't know about, or it could be a mistake on the part of the public prosecutors and the Assets Examination Committee," Tharit said.
"Thaksin was allowed to walk free in this case and continues to own the 54 million Shin shares. He could be deemed to be unusually rich in this case."
In 1993, before SC Asset was listed on the stock market, the Shinawatras notified the SEC they owned 60.82 per cent of shares in SC Asset. But they did not disclose the fact that OGF and ODF also held SC Asset stocks on their behalf.
If this portion were included, the Shinawatras would have reported their combined holding of 79.87 per cent, which exceeded the critical 75-per-cent stake needed to pass major company resolutions.
Chatthip Tanthaprasat, a lawyer representing Thaksin, said the Shinawatras would lodge an appeal by this Friday with the Supreme Court against the ruling that confiscated Bt46 billion worth of the family's assets.
