AEC summons Pojaman, five others to hear charges against them
The Assets Examination Committee yesterday ordered six people involved in a controversial share transfer in 1997, including Khunying Pojaman Shinawatra, the wife of ex-PM Thaksin Shinawatra, to appear in person before the panel on January 4 to hear formal charges against them.
The AEC has mailed the orders to the six people, said Sak Korsaengruang, spokesman for the panel, after yesterday's meeting of its subcommittee charged with investigating the matter. He said the letters also informed them that they had violated the Code of Revenue, a violation that carries a jail term of between three months and seven years and a fine ranging from Bt2,000 to Bt200,000. Pojaman, her brother Bhanapot Damapong, and four others - including a domestic helper of the Shinawatra family - have been accused by the AEC of colluding in tax evasion. The allegations stemmed from a share purchase in November 1997, when Bhanapot received 4.5 million shares of Shinawatra Computer and Communication worth Bt738 million from the maid Duangta Wongpakdi. Pojaman paid a Bt7.38-million purchase fee to the stock exchange. The AEC has alleged that Pojaman paid for the purchase with an account-payee cheque to Duangta, and that the cheque was later deposited into an account in the name of Pojaman. Meanwhile, a dispute continued yesterday between the AEC and the lawyers working for the Shinawatra family. AEC member Kaewsan Atibodhi yesterday said the panel was empowered by an announcement of the coup-makers to seek punishment for Panthongtae and Pinthongta Shinawatra, children of Thaksin and Pojaman, if they failed to testify before the panel by next Wednesday, as had been ordered by the AEC. Kaewsan said that in Announcement No 30 by the Council for Democratic Reform, the AEC had received authority from the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC). Under the NCCC Act, anyone failing to abide by the anti-graft agency's order could face imprisonment of up to six months and a maximum fine of Bt10,000. The Shinawatra family's legal adviser, Noppadon Pattama, had insisted that Panthongtae and Pinthongta would present their testimonies in writing rather than appearing in person before the AEC. He doubted the AEC had the authority of the NCCC over the matter in question. Kaewsan said yesterday that the AEC would cite the law in exercising its power about the matter if the Shinawatra siblings failed to appear as ordered. Panthongtae and Pinthongta were involved in the tax-free sale of Shin Corp shares held by Ample Rich Investments, their company registered in the British Virgin Islands, to Singapore's Temasek Holdings.
Bancha Khaengkhan, Budsarakham Sinlapalavan The Nation
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