Thaksin Shinawatra, the billionaire former prime minister of Thailand, remains one of the country’s most influential and controversial figures nearly two decades after being ousted in a 2006 military coup.

Billionaire Thaksin Shinawatra's sudden departure comes as the Thai parliament is set to pick a new Prime Minister to replace his daughter Paetongtarn Shinawatra, who was removed from the top job by the Constitutional Court last week.