Thaksin Shinawatra is the deposed Prime Minister of Thailand and the former leader of the populist Thai Rak Thai party.
His government has been frequently challenged with allegations of corruption, dictatorship, demagogy, treason, conflicts of interest, human rights offences, acting undiplomatically, the use of legal loopholes and hostility towards a free press.
On 19 September 2006, a military junta overthrew his government in a bloodless coup while he was in New York City.
On January 23, 2006, the Shinawatra family sold their entire stake in Shin Corporation to Temasek Holdings. The Shinawatra and Damapong families netted about 73 billion baht (about US$1.88 billion) tax-free from the sale, using a regulation that individuals who sell shares on the stock exchange pay no capital gains tax.
