Background of Thaksin’s three major cases that led to his one-year prison sentence

Thaksin Shinawatra, former Prime Minister of Thailand, has made history as the first former PM to be sent to prison following a ruling by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Position. The court sentenced Thaksin to one year in prison as part of his “14th-floor case”, related to multiple past convictions. The ruling was made after confirming that the time he spent at Police General Hospital could not be deducted from his sentence.

The court's decision stems from three major criminal cases Thaksin faced during his tenure as prime minister:

1. Corruption in the special lottery project – Thaksin was sentenced to 2 years in prison for violating his legal and ethical duties as Prime Minister. The court found that the misuse of funds resulted in a loss to the state.

2. Authorising a low-interest loan to the Myanmar government – Thaksin was sentenced to 3 years for authorising a 4-billion-baht loan to Myanmar, with below-market interest rates, which benefited his own business interests.

3. Using a nominee to hold shares in Shin Corporation – Thaksin was sentenced to 5 years in prison for using a nominee to hold shares in Shin Corporation, a company that had government contracts. The court found that this was done to benefit Thaksin or others unlawfully.

Since the sentences for cases 1 and 3 overlapped, Thaksin’s total prison sentence was reduced to 8 years. Following this, Thaksin filed a petition for a royal pardon, which was granted by King Maha Vajiralongkorn on August 31, 2023, reducing his sentence to 1 year.

Cases dismissed and statute-barred against Thaksin

1. The case accusing Thaksin of approving the Ministry of Finance’s management plan for the rehabilitation of Thai Petrochemical Industry (TPI) Ltd was dismissed by the Supreme Court.

2. The case involving Krung Thai Bank providing fraudulent loans worth over 10 billion baht to the Kritsada Mahakorn Group was also dismissed by the Supreme Court. The court found that the term “super boss” or “big boss”, which was claimed to refer to Thaksin, could not be proven as being attributed to him.

3. In the case involving the fraudulent purchase of land in the Ratchadapisek area, where Potjaman Shinawatra (Thaksin’s wife at the time) and Thaksin were accused of purchasing 33 rai and 78 square wah of land for 772 million baht from the Financial Institutions Development Fund, the case was due for judgement by the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Persons Holding Political Position. However, before the verdict was delivered, Thaksin left the country, claiming he was attending the Olympic Games in China. He failed to return for the verdict, leading the Supreme Court to issue the verdict in his absence, sentencing him to 2 years in prison while dismissing the charges against Potjaman. The case has now expired under the statute of limitations.