Thaksin's "Double Jeopardy"?

As "hidden shares" are coming back to haunt him big time, it's time we recalled what ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra said about Ample Rich and Win Mark - his alleged "ghost companies" that held Shin Corp shares maliciously in his and his wife's capacities.

In this interview with Nation Channel in 2000, after the National Counter Corruption Commission launched an investigation, Thaksin insisted that Win Mark was only a foreign company that was interested in buying Shin Corp shares.

It was his clearest public statement distancing himself from Win Mark. And after winning the 2001 general election and becoming prime minister, he didn't identify shares in Win Mark as part of his assets.

Whereas shares in his servants' accounts and Ample Rich were his past "honest mistakes", as he told the Constitution Court in 2001, failure to report Win Mark shares to the NCCC after becoming prime minister meant Thaksin "lied" and "concealed" his assets again, assuming of course that his alleged connection with Win Mark was real.

Double jeopardy? Or was it yet another "honest mistake"? Or was it another breach of the 1997 Constitution - shameless this time because he did it despite having been given a chance through the earlier Constitution Court acquittal?

Listen to the interview and read our analyses here and in our print edition to get more insights into a moralteasting issue that refuses to go away.

Thaksin's interview with Nation Channel

A summary of the interview on November 28, 2000 by Nation Channel:

He insisted that only two per cent of voters, according to a survey conducted by his party, were interested in the alleged share concealment.

"The vast majority just want to know what I will do to improve their wellbeings. No matter how many shares I have won't make Thai people better or worse off," he said.

"I don't think it's going to be my weak point, because I have already asked the people what they do care about."

Host : To play politics, you may want to be transparent to a certain extent. Won't you want to answer some doubts? People have been talking about tax evasion and stock manipulation.

Thaksin: No. No. It had nothing to do with such things. People want to find faults, like some reporters whom I'm suing. It's normal.

Host: Are you confident that there's nothing fishy or unusual about the shares?

Thaksin: Absolutely. It's normal for people like me who started a family business the way I did. We needed [nominees] partners.

Host: Why did you need nominees?

Thaksin: It's been like this from the very beginning, when we, for example, needed seven people to register a company.

Host: But after that? You still needed these people?

Why were those holders transferred shares among themselves?

Thaksin: No. there's no such thing. If there ever was, there might be some changes in structure or in order to sell, in order to close some inactive accounts. I can't remember exact details.

Host: Have you ever manipulated shares?

Thaksin: Never. Please. I never thought I would come this far. I have earned far more than I dreamed of. I don't want more.

Host: Ample Rich. You knew about it?

Thaksin: Yes. We needed to have some shares registered as foreignregistered. Because when we register in New York in the future, the shares can be sold.

Host: To facilitate the sale of shares in New York?

Thaksin: Yes.

Host: No hiden agenda? Nothing to hide?

Thaksin: No. I reported this to the stock market authorities and I reported it in assets reports.

Host: Win Mark. You said this company bought shares from your company. People are wondering if it really exists. There are claims you may again have sneaked out and set it up.

Thaksin: No. No.

Host: It's a normal purchase then. It's a foreign company buying your shares.

Thaksin: That's right.