The government faces a new legal challenge after a petition was submitted to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), asking it to investigate a 35-billion-baht sum used to finance its 10,000-baht cash handout.
Those who are implicated in the case include the current cabinet ministers, former ministers in the Srettha Thavisin Administration, as well as MPs and senators who voted for the budget bill for the 2025 fiscal year.
The petition was submitted by Charnchai Issarasenarak, a former Democrat MP, Somchai Swangkarn, a former senator, and Jade Donavanik, a former adviser to the Constitutional Drafting Committee.
They accused these cabinet ministers, MPs and senators of violating Section 144 of the constitution as well as Section 88 of the Anti-Corruption Act, which is the charter's organic law.
Mr Charnchai and Mr Jade have asked the NACC to investigate the case, and if it finds enough grounds for the allegations, it must forward it to the Constitutional Court to rule whether to remove those accused from office.
Mr Charnchai said that the 3.75-trillion-baht budget bill for the 2025 fiscal year was accepted by the House for deliberation in its first reading in parliament on June 21, last year.
Before the second reading, the cabinet led by then prime minister, Mr Srettha, decided that a sum of 35 billion baht be taken from a budget reserved for debt payment to state-run banks under Section 28 of the Financial and Fiscal Discipline Act. It was diverted to a central fund to finance the 10,000-baht cash handout scheme.
The House committee scrutinising the budget acquiesced despite the constitution prohibiting such action.
According to the former MP, the decision affected several state-run banks, including the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives, which has lost 31.3 billion baht, the Government Savings Bank (2.68 billion baht) and the Government Housing Bank (592 million baht).
These budget allocations were originally intended to compensate these banks for revenue losses as a result of the implementation of government projects such as a debt suspension scheme for farmers and a crop price guarantee project.
Section 144 of the constitution prohibits the slashing of budget allocations used to fulfil legal obligations, particularly allocations set aside for debt payment to banks under Section 28 of the Financial and Fiscal Discipline Act.
Mr Charnchai also said that another 1.25 billion baht was diverted from the central fund to a fund for former parliamentarians, which violated Section 144 (2) of the constitution, which prohibits MPs or senators from diverting budget allocations for personal benefits.
He said that a total of 309 MPs, 175 senators, as well as 72 members of the committee scrutinising the 2025 budget bill, voted for the bill in its second and third readings. All of them are therefore implicated in the allegation, Mr Charnchai said.
Mr Jade said that an investigation by the NACC is expected to take no more than two months. If the NACC finds enough grounds in the evidence provided, it can submit the case to the Constitutional Court, which is expected to take 15 days to consider the case before delivering a ruling.
The Paetongtarn administration could also be embroiled in the case as the 10,000-baht cash handout initiated by the Srettha government is still currently being implemented, observers said.
In March, the government approved a third phase of the digital wallet programme, which will distribute 10,000 baht to 2.7 million people aged 16 to 20 as part of its economic stimulus package.
Ms Paetongtarn previously said that this phase of the 10,000-baht per person giveaway would be distributed and spent via digital wallets instead of cash, as the system designed to enable this would finally be ready for general use.
The first two phases covered welfare cardholders, people with disabilities and people aged 60 and above, with payments made via PromptPay.
