Volume 123, Issue 105A
Royal Gazette
3 October 2549
Announcement of the Council for Democratic Reform
No 30
Re: Scrutiny of acts causing damage to the State
Following the issuance of the Announcement of the Council for Democratic Reform No 23 dated the 24th day of September 2549 BE, Re: Scrutiny of property, the scrutiny proceedings should be improved to empower the Scrutiny Committee to scrutinise a wider range of acts causing damage to the State, for which reason the Council for Democratic Reform announces as follows:
Article1.The Announcement of the Council for Democratic Reform No 23 dated the 24th day of September 2549 BE, Re: Scrutiny of property shall be repealed.
Article2.There shall be a Scrutiny Committee composed of—
| (1) | Nai Klanarong Chanthik | as Member; | ||
| (2) | Nai Kaewsan Atibodhi | as Member; | ||
| (3) | Khunying Jaruvan Maintaka | as Member; | ||
| (4) | Nai Chiranit Havanond | as Member; | ||
| (5) | Nai Nam Yimyaem | as Member; | ||
| (6) | Nai Banjerd Singkaneti | as Member; | ||
| (7) | Nai Wirot Laohaphan | as Member; | ||
| (8) | Nai Sawat Chotiphanit | as Member; | ||
| (9) | Nai Sak Kosaengruang | as Member; | ||
| (10) | Nang Saowani Atsawarot | as Member; | ||
| (11) | Nai Udom Fuangfoong | as Member; | ||
| (12) | Nai Amnuay Thantara | as Member. |
In the event that a law prohibits any person from holding a position of committee member or from performing any other duty in relation to the holding of a position, such law shall not be applied to the appointment of and performance of duties by the Members of the Scrutiny Committee.
The Members of the Scrutiny Committee under paragraph 1 shall select one amongst themselves to serve as their President and shall have the power to appoint one Secretary and appoint Assistant Secretaries as necessary.
In the event that [a position of] Member becomes vacant, the remaining Members shall be able to continue their duties if they are not less than one half of the total number of the Members, and the Cabinet shall have the power to appoint a person found appropriate as a Member to fill the vacant [position of] Member.
Article3.The State Audit Office shall be responsible for administrative works of the Scrutiny Committee and shall perform the duties assigned by the Scrutiny Committee.
The Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the Anti-Money Laundering Office, the Bank of Thailand, the Office of the Attorney General, and the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission shall cooperate on the activities requested by the Scrutiny Committee and shall supply it with information, personnel, or any other things in the interest of its performance of duties.
The Secretariat of the Cabinet shall provide an appropriate office to the Scrutiny Committee, and if requested by the Scrutiny Committee, the Cabinet shall have the power to order officials from state agencies to assist in the works designated by the Scrutiny Committee.
Article4.The Budget Bureau shall allocate an amount of budget as deemed appropriate for the State Audit Office by doling it out of the money left from the expenditures of the Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Office of the Election Commission, in order to cover the expenses incurred by the Scrutiny Committee in carrying out its activities. In the event that the left money does not suffice to cover the expenses, the Cabinet shall provide a support budget as necessary.
The remuneration for or any other expenses incurred in the performance of duties by the Members of the Scrutiny Committee, as well as the remuneration for or any other expenses incurred by the officials working for the Scrutiny Committee, shall be governed by the criteria designated by the Scrutiny Committee with the approval of the Prime Minister.
Article5.The Scrutiny Committee shall have the following powers and duties.
(1)to scrutinise the activities or projects endorsed or approved by the Cabinet removed from office as a result of the Democratic Reform or by its members when there are proper reasons to suspect that they might have taken place through dishonesty or misconduct;
(2)to scrutinise contracts, concession contracts, or procurement arrangements of public entities, state enterprises, or other state agencies when there are proper reasons to suspect that they might have involved acts wrongfully benefiting private entities, unlawful acts, or acts of dishonesty or misconduct;
(3)to scrutinise the handling of any public affairs by state officials or state agencies when there are proper reasons to suspect that they might have involved unlawful acts or acts of dishonesty or misconduct;
(4)to scrutinise acts committed by any persons when they are found to be unlawful or to have evaded a law on taxation, thereby causing damage to the State.
In the event where it is found that reliable evidence shows dishonesty or misconduct as to a scrutinised matter and circumstances show any person related to such dishonesty or misconduct or having gained unusual wealth or unusual increase of wealth, the Scrutiny Committee shall have the power to order provisional seizure or sequestration of the relevant property of such person and his or her spouse and children who have not yet attained majority.
For the purposes of the execution of this Announcement, the Scrutiny Committee shall have the powers under the following laws in addition to the powers under paragraph 1:
(1)the Act on Anti-Money Laundering, 2542 BE,[1] in respect of which the Scrutiny Committee shall exercise the powers of the Anti-Money Laundering Commission and the Transactions Commission;
(2)the Organic Act on Anti-Corruption, 2542 BE, in respect of which the Scrutiny Committee shall exercise the powers of the National Anti-Corruption Commission;
(3)the Revenue Code, in respect of which the Scrutiny Committee shall exercise the powers of the Director General of the Revenue Department only when dealing with the seizure, sequestration, and auctioning of property.
In executing paragraphs 1, 2, and 3, the Scrutiny Committee shall have the power to consider any matters which it finds should be scrutinised, matters proposed by informants, or matters pending before any other agencies, and shall have the power to take files of or matters pending before other state agencies or inquiry or scrutiny files of the State Audit Office, if any, into account and use them as scrutiny files of the Scrutiny Committee, whether with or without additional inquiry. In the event that an identical matter is pending before the National Anti-Corruption Commission, Anti-Money Laundering Commission, or Transactions Commission, [the Committee] shall coordinate with [the Commission] in order to proceed with [the matter] as proper for the circumstances.
Article6.The Scrutiny Committee shall notify the name of the person under article 5 to financial institutions, the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Land Department, the Revenue Department, and other relevant agencies, as well as the possessors of property, documents, or evidence relating to the property of such person, and require the agencies or persons concerned to notify the Scrutiny Committee of information relating to the relevant property, tax payments, and property-related transactions of the person under article 5 and his or her spouse and children who have not yet attained majority, subject to the time limit and procedure designated by the Scrutiny Committee.
In performing the duty under paragraph 1, the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission shall have the power to order securities companies to send information and documents to the Office of the Securities and Exchange Commission to further be notified to the Scrutiny Committee.
The provisions of law which prohibit disclosure of information relating to the execution of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not be applied to the notification of information according to paragraph 1.
Article7.In the event that a person whose property has been seized or sequestered by virtue of article 5 fails to give notice of the information under article 6, fails to deliver the seized or sequestered property, or removes or disposes of the sequestered property, the said property shall be deemed to have been obtained wrongfully and to constitute unusual wealth or unusually increased property or to be related to the commission of an offence under the law on anti-money laundering.
In the event that any of the agencies or persons under article 6 fails to do as required by the Scrutiny Committee by virtue of article 6 and damage arises out of such failure, the said agency or person shall be liable for the arisen damage.
Article8.As for the property seized or sequestered by virtue of article 5, if its owner successfully proves before the Scrutiny Committee within the period of time designated by the Scrutiny Committee that he or she is its true owner and it has not been obtained through the commission of an offence, or is not related to unusual wealth or unusual increase of property, or has not been obtained through the commission of an offence under the law on anti-money laundering, the Scrutiny Committee shall have the power to order revocation of its seizure or sequestration.
Article9.In the event that the Scrutiny Committee has resolved to hold any holder of a political position or any person to have committed an offence in office or corruption in office or to have gained unusual wealth, it shall send reports, documents, and evidence, as well as an opinion, to the Attorney General in order for the Attorney General to carry out further proceedings according to the Organic Act on Criminal Procedure for Holders of Political Positions, 2542 BE, in respect of which the resolution of the Scrutiny Committee shall be deemed to be a resolution of the National Anti-Corruption Commission. In the event that the Attorney General has a different opinion but the Scrutiny Committee reaffirms its opinion, the Scrutiny Committee shall have the power to carry out proceedings for filing a petition with the Supreme Court of Justice’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions or a court competent to exercise jurisdiction over the matter, as the case may be.
In the event that the Scrutiny Committee has resolved to hold any person to have breached a law and the matter is not governed by the Organic Act on Anti-Corruption, 2542 BE, the Scrutiny Committee shall forward the matter to relevant agencies to further be proceeded with in accordance with the laws for which those agencies are responsible. In this respect, the results of the scrutiny carried by the Scrutiny Committee shall be deemed to be an inquiry under the law concerned.
Article10.In performing the duties under this Announcement, the Scrutiny Committee shall have the power to establish subcommittees to perform actions as assigned.
Article11.The Scrutiny Committee shall finish executing this Announcement within one year from the effective day of this Announcement.
Upon expiry of the time limit under paragraph 1, if the scrutiny of or inquiry into any matter is still not finished, the Scrutiny Committee shall hand its files over to the Office of the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the Office of the Anti-Money Laundering Commission, the State Audit Office, or other agency to be proceeded with by the latter by virtue of its powers and duties, as the case may be.
Article12.No amendment made by this Announcement to the Announcement of the Council for Democratic Reform No 23 dated the 24th day of September 2549 Buddhist Era, Re: Scrutiny of property shall affect anything done by the Scrutiny Committee before the effective day of this Announcement.
Announced on the 30th day of September 2549 Buddhist Era
General Sonthi Boonyaratglin
Chief of the Council for Democratic Reform
- ↑ Typographical error for “Anti-Money Laundering Act, 2542 BE”. (Wikisource contributor note)
This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.
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This work is in the public domain worldwide because it originated in Thailand and is a work under section 7(2) of Thailand's Copyright Act, 2537 BE (1994) (WIPO translation), which provides:
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I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby release it into the public domain. This applies worldwide. In case this is not legally possible: I grant anyone the right to use this work for any purpose, without any conditions, unless such conditions are required by law.
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