Wissanu said he had paid proper taxes on his income. He also said he was prepared to have his tax affairs scrutinised by the Revenue Department and the National Anti-Corruption Commission.

“If the agencies have queries, I am pleased to explain. I have all the necessary documents,” he said, adding that he had already submitted some documents to authorities.

Wissanu, who is in charge of the government’s legal affairs, was responding to a request by Pheu Thai Party legal expert Ruangkrai Leekitwattana asking him to disclose his tax records between 2005 and 2014, when his assets increased by Bt87.5 million.

Ruangkrai submitted the request through the public-complaint centre at the Prime Minister’s Office yesterday morning. He said he wondered whether Wissanu had paid his income taxes properly and called for the disclosure of his tax records for scrutiny.

He said Wissanu saw his assets increase by the equivalent of Bt9.7 million a year between 2005 and 2014, noting that after assuming office in the present post-coup government, Wissanu reported an increase of “only Bt3 million” in assets. Wissanu served as a deputy prime minister under Thaksin from 2002 to 2006.

Ruangkrai called on relevant authorities to deal with Wissanu’s case in the same way they treated similar cases involving opposition politicians. He admitted that yesterday’s move was related to authorities’ actions against Thaksin, who has been living in exile overseas, seeking to claim allegedly unpaid taxes.

The Revenue Department recently posted a notice at Thaksin’s Bangkok house demanding Bt17 billion in back-taxes stemming from the sale of his family’s shares in the telecoms company Shin Corp in 2006.

Wissanu said yesterday that the Bt87-million increase in his assets took place after he left the Thaksin government, and that he had served as a director in various companies.

When asked if the move against him was politically motivated, Wissanu said: “People with common sense should know. That’s why I am not excited at all.”