Ruangkrai says tourism minister lied about share sale in assets statement

Ruangkrai told reporters that he had mailed his complaint against Sudawan to the Office of the Election Commission, accusing her of alleged concealment of her shares in a company when she filed her assets statement to the Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

Ruangkrai alleged that there were suspicious items in Sudawan’s assets statement submitted on July 4 last year when she became an MP. When she became the tourism minister on September 1, the NACC allowed her to use the July 4 statement without having to submit a new one.

Ruangkrai said the statement was suspicious because she stated that she had sold her shares for 459.364 million and added that she had not received the money from the transaction yet.

But in the same statement, Sudawan also stated that she owed five people 459.364 million baht for share procurements, Ruangkrai said.

He told reporters that he had called on the EC to investigate why Sudawan had not received the money once she had sold the shares and why she owed to others the same amount as the sale value of her shares.

Ruangkrai said she wanted the EC to investigate whether Sudawan had concealed her shares by falsely stating she had sold them. If so, Ruangkrai said, the EC should initiate impeachment proceedings as the Constitution prohibits a Cabinet member from holding more than 5% of shares in a firm.

Ruangkrai said as per the asset statement, Sudawan’s creditors included her parents, Virasak Wangsuphakijkosol, a former deputy tourism minister, and Yollada Wangsuphakijkosol.

Ruangkrai called on the EC to check Sudawan’s financial statement with statements of her parents submitted to the EC when Virasak was a Cabinet member.