Thailand’s Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Friday declared more than $400 million in assets, her party said, including more than 200 designer handbags worth more than $2 million and at least 75 luxury watches valued at almost 5 million dollars.
Paetongtarn, the youngest daughter of telecommunications billionaire and former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, took office in September as the fourth member of the clan to lead a Thai government in 20 years. Paetongtarn, now 38, also became Thailand’s youngest leader, aged 37 when she took office.
Paetongtarn was forced to declare its assets and liabilities to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).
It identified 13.8 billion baht ($400 million) in assets, a document posted on media websites showed.
His investments were worth 11 billion baht and he had another 1 billion baht in deposits and cash, according to his statement.
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His other assets included 75 watches valued at 162 million baht and 39 more watches, as well as 217 handbags worth 76 million baht, as well as properties in London and Japan, among other properties.
He also declared liabilities of nearly five billion baht, according to the NACC document published by local media, giving him a net worth of 8.9 billion baht ($258 million).
A Pheu Thai party representative confirmed to AFP that the figures published by Thai media were accurate.
His father and predecessor Thaksin, who once owned the Manchester Metropolis soccer club, has a net worth of $2.1 billion, according to Forbes, making him the 10th richest person in Thailand.
Thaksin used the wealth generated by his Shin Corp telecommunications empire to propel him into politics, and his family has remained influential even during his years in exile following his overthrow in a coup. Last year, Thaksin was released from a police hospital, where he was serving a one-year prison sentence for corruption and abuse of power, police said. BBC reported.
The telecommunications billionaire was the first prime minister in Thai history to lead an elected government for a full term, according to the bbc.
Analysts say there is a long-standing connection between wealth and power in the kingdom.
“In a nation without a fully functioning democracy, money plays an essential role in political activities,” Yuttaporn Issarachai of Sukhothai Thammathirat University told AFP.
“This has often been the justification for military interventions, with accusations of a lack of transparency.”
Paetongtarn’s immediate predecessor as prime minister, Srettha Thavisin, declared assets of 985 million baht when he was removed by Thailand’s constitutional court in August, up from 1.02 billion baht at the start of his term. He BBC reported that the court ruled that Srettha had violated “ethics rules” with “the demonstration of defiant behavior.”
