The Appeal Court has upheld a three-year jail sentence for former deputy chief of the Revenue Department Benja Louischaroen and three ex-Revenue Department officials for their roles in helping the family of ousted premier Thaksin Shinawatra evade almost 16 billion baht in tax payments.
Benja: Malfeasance appeal fails
The case involved Shin Corp shares purchased in 2006 by Panthongtae and Pinthongta Shinawatra, the children of the former prime minister, from Ample Rich, an offshore holding company controlled by the Shinawatra family.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) brought the case to the court in December 2015. It accused Benja, who was deputy finance minister in the Yingluck Shinawatra administration, Chamras Yamsoithong and Moreerat Boonyasiri, former legal affairs directors; and Krit Vipulanusat, the then legal affairs director, of malfeasance in enabling Thaksin's children to avoid paying tax in the deal.
It came after the siblings bought 164,600,000 Shin Corp shares at a par value of one baht in 2006 when the share price in the stock market was 49.25 baht. The NACC indicated the pair had to pay tax based on the share-price earnings gap of 7.94 billion baht each, or 15.88 billion baht in total for their gain. The four's assistance towards the siblings damaged the Revenue Department, the Finance Ministry as well as the civil service, according to the NACC.
The anti-graft agency also accused Pranee Vejpruekpitak, former secretary to Thaksin's ex-wife Khunying Potjaman na Pombejra, of supporting malfeasance in the case.
In July 2016, the Court of First Instance sentenced the four former officials to three years in prison for malfeasance and Pranee to two years in jail for supporting the offence. The five appealed the ruling and were granted bail.
According to the Appeal Court, it considered all points of the defendants' appeal, including the NACC's authority to file the lawsuit against them and whether the replies given to the siblings who questioned whether their share purchase needed to be taxed would cause damage to the Revenue Department.
The court said the defendants' appeal was unsound and it agreed with the lower court's prison sentences handed down to the five. The court said the defendants' offence was made with no care paid to the damage and credibility of the country's tax collection system. The five can still appeal the Appeal Court's ruling, though they need to seek signatures for approval by judges deliberating the case or the attorney-general if they want to contest the factual elements behind the case.