Former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra faces mounting legal and political challenges, which analysts believe will keep him in prison beyond the next general election, severely undermining the Pheu Thai Party’s ability to lead a coalition government.
Thaksin and his family were dealt two major blows on Monday. First, the Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) decided to appeal the lower court’s decision to acquit Thaksin of lese majeste charges stemming from his interview with a South Korean newspaper in 2015.
Second, the Supreme Court ordered him to pay 17.6 billion baht in taxes related to the 2006 sale of his Shin Corp shares. Earlier rulings had favoured Thaksin, but the Supreme Court reversed those decisions, declaring the Revenue Department’s tax assessment lawful.
Meanwhile, Thaksin remains incarcerated, serving a one-year sentence linked to the Police General Hospital 14th floor controversy, meaning he will likely remain behind bars for the expected election next January.
