Bangkok: Political activist Sonthiya Sawasdee has called on the Prime Minister to dismiss Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy, Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, due to a controversy surrounding his wife's shareholding. Sonthiya submitted a letter for the fourth time to the Government House's complaint center, urging the removal of Pirapan from his ministerial roles for allegedly violating Section 3, paragraph 2 of the Constitution.
According to Thai News Agency, Pirapan assumed his ministerial position on July 3, 2024. On the following day, July 4, 2024, his wife attempted to transfer shares by hiring MFC Public Company Limited to hold these shares on her behalf. However, on May 28, 2025, MFC Company informed her that they could not accept the transfer due to restrictions on transferring shares to non-descendants. Consequently, the shares remain under her name, which contravenes the regulation prohibiting ministers and their spouses from holding more than 5% of shares, as she still holds 21.69%.
In addition to this, it was discovered that Pirapan holds shares in a company where his deceased mother was also a shareholder, with financial transactions still bearing his signature. This information, verified through the Department of Business Development, Ministry of Commerce, reveals that Pirapan and his wife have holdings in at least 5-6 companies together. Sonthiya is pressing the Prime Minister to investigate these matters and consider Pirapan's removal, citing these as individual offenses. Should no action be taken by Friday, July 4, 2015, Sonthiya plans to submit a petition questioning Pirapan's qualifications.