Supreme Admin Court orders Yingluck to pay 10bn baht for G-to-G rice deal damage

Supreme Admin Court orders Yingluck to pay 10bn baht for rice pledging scheme damage, overturning lower court ruling and adjusting asset freezes.

The Supreme Administrative Court on Thursday overturned the lower court’s ruling and ordered former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to pay compensation of 10.028 billion baht. She was held responsible for failing to prevent a fraudulent government-to-government (G-to-G) rice sales deal.

Complex Ruling: Partial Win and Loss for Yingluck and Husband

Yingluck and her husband, Anusorn Amorchat, were co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit and experienced mixed outcomes in the Supreme Administrative Court’s complicated ruling. The court annulled two previous orders: one from the Finance Ministry demanding Yingluck pay 35.717 billion baht in compensation, and another from the Legal Execution Department to freeze Yingluck’s and her husband’s assets for auction.

Accountability for G-to-G Rice Deal Corruption

Despite annulling those orders, the court held Yingluck accountable for damage amounting to 20.057 billion baht caused by alleged corruption in the G-to-G rice deal. She was ordered to pay half of this amount, totalling 10.028 billion baht.

Legal Background and Defendants

Yingluck and Anusorn filed the lawsuit against nine defendants, including:


The then Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha
The Finance Minister and Deputy Finance Minister
The Permanent Secretary for the Finance Ministry
The Prime Minister’s Office
The Finance Ministry
The Legal Execution Department and its director-general
The legal executor in charge of Bangkok


Lower Court Ruling and Appeal

The lower court ruled in Yingluck’s favour on 2 April 2021, stating that the Finance Ministry failed to provide concrete evidence linking her to the state’s damage. The defendants appealed this ruling, leading to the Supreme Administrative Court’s recent decision.

Court’s Reasoning: Responsibility Limited to G-to-G Deal Damage

The court ruled Yingluck was not responsible for general damage caused by the rice pledging scheme, which was the duty of project officials. However, as Prime Minister and Chair of the National Rice Policy Committee, Yingluck failed in her duty by attending only one committee meeting and ignoring warnings from the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the State Audit Office.



Orders for Compensation and Asset Management

The court instructed the Finance Ministry to cancel the earlier order demanding 35.717 billion baht and to proceed with collecting the 10.028 billion baht from Yingluck.

Additionally, the Legal Execution Department and the Bangkok legal execution officer were ordered to cancel the asset freeze on Anusorn’s property, recognising his entitlement to half the assets earned after marriage. They must separate his assets from Yingluck’s frozen assets within 60 days before auctioning the remainder to pay compensation.

Yingluck’s Legal Representation

Yingluck, currently in self-exile, was represented by her lawyer Norawich Lalaeng, who attended the ruling on her behalf.

(2025/05/22-00:00)