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The court's verdict amounted to a vindication for the thankless work done by the AEC, which was formed after the September 2006 military coup to pursue corruption cases against ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, his family and associates. The AEC wrapped up this tax-evasion case, linked to the asset-concealment case launched against Thaksin in 2001 when the Constitution Court let him off the hook after Thaksin had confessed to having committed an "honest mistake". The Office of the Attorney-General followed up by taking this case to the Criminal Court in March of last year.

The AEC, the mandate of which expired in June this year, was initially seen as a paper tiger. Its members worked hard for more than one year before summing up the corruption cases and forwarding their findings to the National Counter Corruption Commission, which from now on will bring cases to the Office of the Attorney-General and the courts. The AEC's members were attacked and at one point were seen as having been abandoned by the military leaders who appointed them. But as time went on, the AEC's efforts have proven to be quite substantive, providing damaging evidence against Thaksin & Co.

Thaksin's supporters and cronies have tried to nullify the AEC by calling it an illegitimate agency, or to change the Constitution to Thaksin's advantage. But the Constitution Court has ruled that the AEC's mandate is legal. The Surayud government, appointed by the military coup leaders, was acutely attacked for achieving almost nothing during its term in office of more than one year. Now with hindsight, its planting of the AEC, which looked quite harmless from the beginning, is starting to hurt Thaksin & Co badly.

Going forward, as the corruption cases against Thaksin & Co proceed further in the courts, Thaksin will find himself being squeezed in a legal gridlock. These cases include the Ratchadaphisek land deal, the Exim Bank loan to Burma, the policy corruption case involving the revisions of the laws to benefit Shin Corp, the two- and three-digit lottery scandal, among others.

The Criminal Court's verdict on the tax evasion case against Khunying Pojaman, Bhanapot and Kanchana couldn't have been otherwise. If the Court had found the defendants not guilty, it would have created a precedent that would make it very difficult for the Revenue Department to win tax cases in the future. By implication, Thaksin and his family would find it tough to defend themselves in a case related to Shin Corp in which nominees were used and tax allegedly evaded. Almost Bt70 billion of Thaksin's money is frozen at the banks and a defeat in the courts might mean him losing this staggering amount of cash.

Another larger and even more significant implication from the Criminal Court's ruling is political. Thaksin has been pulling the strings behind the scenes all this time with high hopes of returning to power and saving his family's assets. Any attempt to change the Constitution to alter the rules of the game is out of the question by now. Neither has he a significant influence over the reshuffling of the military in order to strengthen his political situation, or over the courts of justice, which will be handing down rulings in additional landmark cases in which he has little chance of prevailing.

Accompanying his family and his wife Khunying Pojaman to the Criminal Court, Thaksin looked tense during the presiding judge's reading of the verdict. He must have realised by now that the game is over. He finally has lost the hard-fought battle over the past three years.

The next step for Thaksin is not easy. If he runs away, he will lose all the Bt70 billion tightly locked away in the country. If he stays on, he will lose more cases and might risk going to jail. A military coup or a Constitution rewrite in his favour to change the political tide is impossible. There is indeed no way out for him now.