BANGKOK, Nov 25 (TNA) – The Central Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases acquitted Panthongtae Shinawatra, son of former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, of laundering loan money from Krungthai Bank for insufficient evidence.
The court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Mr Panthongtae had been aware that the 10-million-baht sum that Wichai Krisdathanon, who is the owner of real estate developer Krisdamahanakorn, had transferred to his bank account came from a corrupt loan from Krungthai Bank.
When the money was transferred, the defendant was only 26 years old and already had generated as much as 4 billion baht from his shares, of which the 10-million-baht money formed only 0.0025%. Prosecutors showed the court only that Mr Panthongtae was the son of Thaksin and was close to Wichai’s family when he received the money.
In the ruling, minority judges wanted to sentence Mr Panthongtae to four years in jail.
After the ruling, Mr Panthongtae told reporters briefly that he felt relieved and was grateful for the moral support he received. (TNA)
