BANGKOK- The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has filed a lawsuit against Philip Morris (Thailand) for avoiding import tariffs on overseas cigarettes, resulting in the loss of 20 billion baht in tax revenue.
The OAG held a press conference, revealing that the Criminal Court has accepted the lawsuit against the management of Philip Morris (Thailand) Ltd. There are nine defendants in total, including Director of Corporate Affairs and Branch Manager Troy Modlin. They are charged with 272 counts of tax evasion by submitting false declarations of cigarette prices during the months of July 2003 to June 2006. Philip Morris (Thailand) has allegedly deprived the state of over 20 billion baht in revenue.
Should the defendants be found guilty, they will be fined four times the base price and taxes, or approximately 80 billion baht.
The court hearing will begin on April 25, with the first defendant being a legal entity and the remaining defendants granted bail.
Four other foreigners who were part of the management of Philip Morris (Thailand) have escaped the country. The authorities are in the process of coordinating extradition.
