General

General

A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

 Sunthorn Kongsompong (1931 - 1999) was the de facto head of government of Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

 from 1991 - 1992, following a military coup d'etat

Coup d'état

A coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...

 led by Sunthorn and General Suchinda Kraprayoon

Suchinda Kraprayoon

Suchinda Kraprayoon was Prime Minister of Thailand from 7 April 1992 until 24 May 1992.Suchinda, son of Juang and Sompong Kraprayoon, was born 6 August 1933 in the province of Nakhon Pathom, Thailand, and is of Chinese and Mon descent...

 deposed the government of Prime Minister Chatichai Choonhavan

Chatichai Choonhavan

General Chatichai Choonhavan was the Prime Minister of Thailand from 1988 to 1991. He was the only son of Field Marshal Phin Choonhavan, and is of Thai Chinese descent with ancestry from Chenghai District...

 on February 23, 1991. The generals accused Chatichai of corruption

Political corruption

Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...

, and established the National Peacekeeping Council (NPKC) as an interim administration, with Sunthorn as chairman. Anand Panyarachun

Anand Panyarachun

Anand Panyarachun was Thailand's Prime Minister twice, between 1991–1992 and once again in 1992. He was effective in initiating economic and political reforms, one of which was the drafting of Thailand's "Peoples' Constitution", which was promulgated in 1997 and abrogated in 2006...

 was appointed Prime Minister in March, but the administration of the country was also executed by the NPKC. Sunthorn left the political office following the May 1992 constitution promulgation, which prohibited members of the military from executing the office of the Prime Minister.

Following his death due to cancer, a scandal arose over the distribution of his estate. He decided to leave most of his fortune of approximately US$ 150 million to his mistress. His wife sued to have the decision declared void. However, questions arose on how a general earning a little over US$1,000 a month could accumulate such a large personal fortune. The case led to the investigation of other generals, politicians, and businessmen into possible money laundering

Money laundering

Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...

 and corruption. It is said that the general also had close relationship with Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra

Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician, who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was overthrown in a military coup....

, ousted prime minister in another 2006 coup.