Philip Morris charged in Thai tax case

BANGKOK: Tobacco giant Philip Morris on Monday pleaded not guilty to dodging hundreds of millions of dollars in import tax to Thailand, a crime carrying a massive fine of up to $2.27 billion.

Thai prosecutors accuse the local unit of the company, which owns the Marlboro and L&M brands, of evading some 20 billion baht ($568 million) tax by under-declaring import prices for cigarettes from the Philippines between 2003 and 2006.