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Six months after the coup, Thai prosecutors finally pinned a Shinawatra with a crime, and it wasn’t deposed premier Thaksin. It was, his wife Pojaman — a slippery character in her own right.
The cunning former first lady of Thai politics, along with her brother and secretary, was charged with tax evasion for share transfers completed a decade ago. Investigators said Pojaman and her brother, Bhanapot Damapong, dodged a 546 million baht (about US$15.6 million) tax bill when she transferred 4.5 million Shin Corp shares to him. Initially, one of the Shinawatra maids testified that Bhanapot had bought the shares with Pojaman’s money. After that came out, Pojaman insisted the transfer was a wedding gift — albeit a bit late, considering that her brother had gotten married a year earlier. For many who opposed Thaksin, the prosecutor’s decision to bring charges against these two 10 years overdue, and recalls the glory days of the ill-fated 1997 Constitution. Back in 2000, the share deal aroused interest after the National Counter Corruption Commission accused Thaksin of concealing his wealth in a landmark trial that might have banned him from politics for five years. At the trial, it was revealed that Thaksin had dumped his assets into the hands of about 10 proxies, including housemaids, chauffeurs and security guards. It also discovered that the share transfers between Pojaman and Bhanapot, prompting commission chairman Klanarong Chantik (who was re-appointed after the coup) to suspect tax evasion. "The switching of share ownership when the real owner is Khunying Pojaman suggested an irregular and dishonest practice," he said at the time. "It is aimed to disguise shareholdings." Although the evidence for asset concealment appeared rock solid, the Constitution Court stunned legal observers by clearing him in an 8 to 7 verdict. After his acquittal, For the next four years, Thaksin systematically handicapped the independent bodies designed to keep the country’s leaders in check until they finally reasserted power during the premier’s political decline last year. Now the tables are completely turned, and the junta-appointed Assets Scrutiny Committee is looking in every nook and cranny to find any suspicious activity committed by the fallen couple and anyone associated with them. Though it may seem excessive to take aim at the first lady, Pojaman was a crucial player within Thai Rak Thai. Party members said the road to influence passed through her. For instance, when Thaksin was considering taking a "break" from politics last year, Pojaman reportedly favored trusted adviser Bhokin Bhalakula, a former House speaker, as his replacement over Somkid Jatusripitak, the premier’s key economic adviser. Sources said Pojaman didn’t trust Somkid, who did little to defend Thaksin, and feared he might prove popular with the public, blocking her husband’s return to power. Pojaman also met with former prime minister Prem Tinsulanonda, the Privy Council head who some claim helped orchestrate the coup, about a month after the September 19 putsch. Though the contents of the meeting were not disclosed, many news reports saw it as a clever way to undermine the junta. "Her act was indeed almost a coup de grace for the coup-makers, confirming her formidable position as a shrewd political femme fatale who can manipulate a situation to her full advantage, making the Council for National Security and the Surayud government look like greenhorns in a high-stakes game plan," The Nation newspaper wrote at the time. It remains to be seen if her sharp political skills will allow her to elude punishment once again. Pojaman, her bother and the secretary plan to fight the charges, and all were released on bail of five million baht each on Monday. At first glance, they appear to have the upper hand. Bhanapot has a letter from the Revenue Department, signed by then director-general Sirote Swasdipanich, that says he was exempted from paying taxes because the transfer was a gift. To get around this, the prosecution is also bringing a case against Sirote and other senior Revenue Department officials for malfeasance in failing to collect tax on the transaction. This is the same Sirote who first defended the tax-free transfer of Shin Corp shares between Thaksin’s kids right before the mega-deal with Singapore-run Temasek Holdings, and then immediately reversed his decision after the coup. The prosecution now needs to make the case that the Shinawatra couple evaded tax initially and the Revenue Department wrongly exonerated them. Whether that will stand up in court remains to be seen.
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