PRAYUTH SAYS GOV’T RIGHT TO TAKE YINGLUCK ASSETS BEFORE VERDICT
BANGKOK — Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha said Thursday his government was right to confiscate the bank accounts of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra as it was a separate matter than her malfeasance trial, which has yet to render a verdict.
Prayuth said the order to fine Yingluck 35.7 billion baht was issued because the former prime minister must be held accountable for losses of an agricultural subsidy enacted by her government. He said it was irrelevant that her guilt has not yet been established by the court, which is expected to give its decision on Aug. 25.
“I ask you not to mix these two stories up to instigate the people,” Prayuth told reporters Thursday. “Or to distort that we mistreated her by confiscating her assets, because it’s a different story.”
Yingluck is due to give closing statements Tuesday in her trial over allegations she ignored the massive corruption in her administration’s rice subsidy program. The Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Person [sic] Holding Political Positions will then hand out the verdict on Aug. 25.
The Finance Ministry already ordered her in October to personally compensate the state for the 35.7 billion baht. The order remains in effect for 10 years before expiring.
A day before he would be contradicted by his own deputy, Prayuth on Wednesday apparently misunderstood what was happening. He said the accounts were yet been confiscated, as the the authorities were only preparing a list of her bank accounts in case the court finds her guilty.
“To confiscate is not today’s issue but preparation by the authorities,” he said. “She is not guilty until the court makes a ruling … If she is acquitted, then it’s end. We can’t confiscate anything.”
In his comments this morning he acknowledged the seizure had been completed but blamed reporters for confusing different issues.
Meanwhile, the agency responsible for enforcing the will of the courts said Monday it began the process of seizing 12 bank accounts to satisfy the order. The ousted prime minister said early Wednesday morning that she has already lost her accounts and the money held in them.
“It is not true what NCPO leader said, that seizure of my assets was only in preparation,” Yingluck tweeted Wednesday. “My bank accounts have already been confiscated.”
Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said Thursday that authorities only froze her accounts – he numbered them at 16 – but have yet transfer her money to the state.
He said money in the amount of “hundreds of thousands” of baht was withdrawn from five of her frozen accounts but not yet given to the treasury. He said the other 11 accounts remain untouched.
Wissanu said 37 properties belong to Yingluck, the department already coordinated with the Lands Department to prevent her from selling or transferring it. The legal rights remain with Yingluck, for now.
Asked why the authorities appeared to enforce a nearly year-old order at the end of her trial, with a verdict nearly due, Wissanu said the concern was irrelevant. He said agents tasked with carrying out the order had just completed their discovery of her assets and needed to take immediate action or risk being guilty of negligence.
Saying the seizure was unprecedented, Yingluck’s lawyer Noppadol Laothong filed a motion with the Administrative Court.
In response, court spokesman Terdphong Kongchan said the Finance Ministry and related agencies were ordered Monday to submit an explanation within 15 days for why it was necessary to seize Yingluck’s assets.
Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter - July 27, 2017 1:16 pm
YINGLUCK ATTORNEY SAYS ASSET SEIZURE SHOULD WAIT AS PM THREATENS SUPPORTERS
BANGKOK — A lawyer for former premier Yingluck Shinawatra said Monday authorities should delay their attempt to seize her bank account assets as compensation for damages caused by her government’s signature agricultural subsidy program.
The Ministry of Justice announced Monday it will go forward with a plan to seize 12 bank accounts owned by Yingluck per a government order she repay the state 35 billion baht allegedly lost under her administration’s rice price-guarantee policy. The former leader is also being tried on a charge of malfeasance for overseeing the program.
Calling the seizure “unprecedented,” lawyer Noppadol Laothong said officials should wait for a court order first before making any move.
“They should not proceed on their own without a court order,” Noppadol said by phone, adding that he has filed motions with the court and ministry to stay seizure of her assets.
A spokeswoman for the Legal Execution Department declined to comment, saying details of the case can only be disclosed to the accused party.
Junta leader Prayuth Chan-ocha, who as prime minister has sought to undo the Shinawatra political legacy, has threatened Yingluck’s supporters with legal action if they gather in support of her when the court delivers its verdict on Aug. 25.
Yingluck served as prime minister until she was ousted in May 2014 amid street protests led by an ultra-conservative faction that sought to replace her with a royally appointed ruler.
Three weeks after she was removed from post, the military seized power. The junta later announced in late 2016 that it would make Yingluck pay for 35 billion baht worth of damages that allegedly occurred under her rice subsidy, which experts said was fraught with corruption.
Yingluck’s lengthy trial was also for a charge of malfeasance, an offense that carries up to 10 years in prison. Her last court hearing took place Friday.
Teeranai Charuvastra, Staff Reporter - July 25, 2017 10:44 am
FINING YINGLUCK FOR RICE SUBSIDY IN ‘GREY AREA,’ CRITIC OF POLICY SAYS
BANGKOK — The military government’s decision to fine Yingluck Shinawatra for 35 billion baht over her rice subsidy program lacks clear legal grounding, a prominent critic of the former prime minister’s policy said Monday.
Economist Viroj NaRanong said in an interview the punishment, under which she must pay an amount equal to USD$1 billion from her own pocket for the program’s losses, appeared disproportional.
“If there is clear evidence of who in the government defrauded the rice mortgage policy, action must be taken,” said Viroj, an economist at an independent policy think tank and opponent of the rice subsidy. “But the word being used here is negligence, so it’s starting to enter a grey area.”
In its Friday order, the government indicated it was not seeking to fine the former prime minister, whose government was toppled in 2014, on the grounds of corruption but on her failure to acknowledge and stop widespread corruption in the program.
Yingluck’s party, Pheu Thai, has decried the fine as politically motivated.
Findings by the regime that replaced Yingluck’s elected government ruled the agricultural subsidy, under which the state paid farmers premium prices for their rice, cost about 178 billion baht due to corruption and mismanagement. The former leader had to take responsibility by paying 20 percent of the damages, or 35 billion baht, Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam said last month.
But fining Yingluck on the grounds of negligence would require authorities to first prove she conspired with the people engaged in the corruption, said Viroj, a member of Thailand Development Research Institute who’s published articles about the rice policy .
“If there was no conspiracy, it should end with her taking responsibility politically, not legally,” the economist said.
Yingluck said upon being notified Friday that she would use all legal means to overturn the decision. The leader of her Pheu Thai Party said Sunday the military regime was applying a new standard on Yingluck.
“In the past, there were many public policies that used state funds to solve problems, but no former prime minister had to take responsibility for them, even in clear cases of losses of state funds,” Pheu Thai Secretary General Phumtham Wechayachai wrote on Facebook. “What’s also important: Does a government from a coup have legitimacy to demand accountability from the government that it seized power from?”
Apart from the fine, Yingluck is also being tried on charges of negligence. She faces up to 10 years in jail if convicted.
Viroj said it’s rare for the government to fine senior officials for losses of state funds because of their negligence.
In fact, he said he could name only one case: a 2005 court order that former Bank of Thailand president Rerngchai Marakanond pay 180 billion baht for his decision to float the baht in 1997, which contributed to the Asian financial crisis and collapse of Thailand’s financial sector.
Earlier this month, on Oct. 5, the Supreme Court acquitted Rerngchai after a 15-year legal battle.
In an interview Monday, Viroj maintained his belief that Yingluck’s rice policy was destructive to the economy and rife with corruption, but he said authorities need a watertight case of legal evidence to prove her intent before punishing her for negligence.
“Some people said the government was warned many times already that it was a bad idea, but they neglected to hear the warnings. But I don’t think that’s sufficient grounds [for the charge of conspiracy],” Viroj said. “Suppose they believed out of their honest intentions it was a good idea? I still criticize them. But if someone were to hold them legally responsible, I think it’s not fair.”
He compared it to the 2015 indictment of commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom for damages stemming from the same policy; in Boonsong’s case, the indictment was for corruption, which was more clear-cut than an elusive conviction for negligence.
Yingluck’s next court hearing is set for Nov. 4.
Teeranai Charuvastra, Staff Reporter - October 24, 2016 2:25 pm
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly quoted Viroj as saying there was insufficient cause for the charge of negligence, when in fact he meant a count of conspiracy.
YINGLUCK RICE SUBSIDY TRIAL TO STRETCH THROUGH END OF NEXT YEAR
BANGKOK — It will be November 2016 before the last witness testifies in the malfeasance trial of former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra over her government’s subsidy for rice farmers, according to the details of an agreement reached today between the prosecution and defense.
Yingluck, who was at the Supreme Court today with her attorney to settle on a list of 43 witnesses who will be called to testify during the 11-month trial, plans to be present on each day of testimony.
“After that, Yingluck will deliver a closing statement of the case, and a judgment date will be appointed,” her lawyer, Norawit Lalang, said after emerging from the court today. “At this hour, we have to do our best. We cannot be worried about anything. We will prove that the scheme did not cause damage to the country, as many sides have alleged.”
Yingluck, who led the government from 2011 to 2014, is facing trial under the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Office on charge of negligence. Prosecutors accused her of causing billions of baht in damage to the state through a corruption-plagued rice price subsidy policy overseen by her government.
Under the subsidy program – a key policy of her administration – the government bought rice from farmers at above-market prices but then struggled resell it on the international market, accumulating stockpiles and resulting in huge financial loses.
According to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the scheme was riddled with mismanagement and corruption that cost the country more than 500 billion baht in damages.
If guilty, she could face up to 10 years in prison.
The commission filed the lawsuit against Yingluck after her government was toppled by the military in the May 2014 coup d’etat. Apart from the lawsuit, the commission also successfully got Yingluck impeached and banned from politics for five years.
Read: Junta’s Legislature Votes Overwhelmingly to Impeach Former PM Yingluck
Yingluck and her supporters, known as the Redshirts, argue that the legal action taken against her is politically driven.
Around 100 Redshirts showed up at the court today to show their support for Yingluck. The former PM thanked them for their support, but urged them to comply with orders issued by the ruling military junta.
“I’d like to thank everyone who sends their moral support to me,” Yingluck said. “However, I’d like to ask them to uphold orders of the NCPO [National Council for Peace and Order] so that there is stability, because I also want to see peace in the country.”
She declined to answer questions about a campaign by some Redshirts on social media calling for her supporters to wear red shirts in solidarity across the country on Sunday. Other Redshirt leaders have disavowed the campaign and government officials have threatened prosecution of any Redshirts who participate by wearing a red T-shirt.
Teeranai Charuvastra, Staff Reporter - October 29, 2015 6:09 pm
* http://www.khaosodenglish.com/politics/2015/10/29/1446117567/