{
  "id": 12632039,
  "title": "Ex-Thai PM Thaksin cites personal safety in tax challenge",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/ex-thai-pm-thaksin-cites-personal-safety-in-tax-challenge-12632039",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-07T11:35:58.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/10/07/ex-thai-pm-thaksin-cites-personal-safety-in-tax-challenge"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has requested a temporary injunction from a court to halt the revenue department's plan to seize his assets in order to settle a tax dispute. The Supreme Court's Tax Division ruled in November that the revenue department was owed $504 million from the 2006 sale of Thaksin's telecoms company. Thaksin's lawyer stated that the assets at stake were valued at over 17 billion baht. During a hearing at the Central Tax Court in Bangkok on Wednesday, Thaksin claimed that his assets included five vehicles, two of which are bullet-proof, citing his personal safety as a concern. Thaksin, 77, revealed that he had faced four assassination attempts while serving as prime minister from 2001 to 2006. He was initially elected in 2001 and re-elected in 2005 before being removed from office by the military in 2006. Thaksin also argued that he had already fulfilled his obligation to pay the tax bill for the tax-free sale of Shin Corp to Singapore's Temasek Holdings, a deal that netted the Shinawatra family $1.9 billion and sparked widespread protests against his government. The tax court is scheduled to announce its decision on November 16.",
  "summary": "The Supreme Court last November upheld a tax claim by the revenue department against Thaksin Shinawatra over the 2006 sale of his telecoms firm.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "Ex-Thai PM Thaksin fights US$500m tax bill, says seizure of bullet-proof cars could endanger his life",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/ex-thai-pm-thaksin-fights-us-500m-tax-bill-says-seizure-of-bullet",
        "published": "2026-10-07T11:29:39.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Ex-Thai PM Thaksin cites personal safety in tax challenge",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/07/ex-thai-pm-thaksin-cites-personal-safety-in-tax-challenge",
        "published": "2026-10-07T11:35:58.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}