Court sends a signal

Let's get started on questions on the sidelines:

What nailed Pojaman?

To simplify the case and the verdict, she purportedly used her "own" money to buy her "own" shares for her stepbrother Bannaphot Damapong so that he would not have to pay Bt273 million tax (which would have been charged if she had given him the shares directly).

She succeeded in doing so and getting her money back from her "nominee" who "sold" her (or Bannaphot if you will) the shares. The nominee then purportedly signed Pojaman a cheque equalling the value of the share purchase. This means Pojaman got her money back but had to sacrificed more than 7 million baht as brokerage fees.

The court viewed that as a tax evasion scheme.

Why such a complicated transaction?

Remember the share concealment scandal battling Thaksin in 2001? This nominee was among the "big" Shin Corp shareholders who were in fact his employees. The scandal might have required those nominees to cough up all their shares, or new business schemes might have required them to do so. We can only guess.

What's next for her?

Pojaman will have to appeal within a month. It's up to the Appeals Court then how long it takes to rule whether to uphold the verdict or acquit her. But if the Appeals Court still finds her guilty, she won't be able to appeal to the Supreme Court unless ...

A) Any Criminal Court or Appeals Court judge(s) involved in the deliberation of the case made reservations that the case can be appealed with the Supreme Court, or ...

B) The Attorney General endorses her appeal to the Supreme Court.

Will this affect other cases besieging the Shinawatras?

Of course. The court yesterday gave much emphasis on "conspiracy to deceive" and this could provide a base for cases involving deceit regarding transactions or the identities of shareholders. So, for example, the case on alleged concealment of SC Assets shareholding structure will face the same judicial scrutiny and grounds for ruling, and so will cases in which the likes of Ample Rich and Win Mark played big roles.