On May 22, the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra must pay 10.028 billion baht in damages related to her alleged negligence in overseeing the G2G rice sales component of the controversial rice-pledging scheme. This overturns the lower court's ruling that fully revoked the Ministry of Finance’s 2016 compensation order.
Although the court agreed that Yingluck should not be liable for overall losses from the rice-pledging programs of 2012 and 2013 totaling 178 billion baht, it ruled her failure to prevent corruption in the rice sales process—despite warnings from the State Audit Office—constituted gross negligence.
The ruling allows assets exceeding the 10.028 billion baht liability to be returned, especially those jointly owned with her husband Anusorn Amornchat. Her lawyer, Norawich Lalaeng, stated that the legal team will consider petitioning for a retrial based on new evidence showing rice stocks were eventually sold under the current administration, potentially reducing the damage amount.
If pursued, the retrial must be filed within 90 days under Section 75 of the Administrative Procedure Act. Norawich added that although much of Yingluck’s assets have been seized and sold, they likely do not exceed the 10-billion-baht liability. No specific repayment deadline was set by the court.