£230k from Jersey bank returned to Thailand after corruption probe

[webfact]

More than £230,000 (about 10 million baht) seized from a Jersey bank account is being returned to Thailand following a high-profile investigation spearheaded by US police.

 

The funds were linked to a major corruption scandal allegedly involving Gerald and Patricia Martha Green, who were found guilty of bribing former Thai Tourism Authority Governor Juthamas Siriwan and her daughter, Jittisopa. The bribes, given between 2003 and 2007, secured contracts for the Greens to run projects like the prestigious Bangkok International Film Festival.

 

In 2009, the Greens were convicted of money laundering and bribery in the US, while the Siriwans faced their legal reckoning in Thailand for their part in the offences. Jersey’s Attorney General confirmed that a substantial sum of £236,173.81, held in a bank account owned by Siriwan, was first sent to the US before being repatriated to Thailand. Attorney General Mark Temple KC commented on the case.

“The successful repatriation of the funds serves to underline the commitment of the Jersey authorities to draw upon both criminal and civil powers as a means to assist its overseas partners in the global fight against corruption.”

 

He further noted that the recovered amount represents only a fraction of the total losses Thailand is believed to have suffered through illicit dealings, reported BBC News.

 

In related news, a senior mechanic and the chief of a truck weigh station in Ayutthaya’s Wang Noi district has been arrested in a shocking corruption bust. Officers from the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission, alongside Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) officials, swooped in this morning, catching the suspect at his home near the station.

 

by Puntid Tantivangphaisal
Photo courtesy of Google via BBC News

 

Source: The Thaiger 

-- 2024-09-06

 

 

Get the ASEAN NOW daily NEWSLETTER - Click HERE to subscribe

[Gsxrnz]

A drop in the bucket Olympic sized swimming pool of corruption.  At least 25% of all government contracts goes towards the tea fund, and everybody knows it.  

 

Corruption in Thailand - Wikipedia

 

[Foxx]

The article is misleading.  A more accurate account at https://www.gov.je/News/2024/Pages/FundsReturnedUnitedStatesThailand.aspx

[BritScot]

Would this have happened the other way around? Obviously not, ask Saudi Prince and stolen jewelry?

[Tropicalevo]

Quote

pre-existing 2015 permanent bilateral Asset-Sharing Agreement between the United States and Jersey, £236,173.81 was transferred to the United States, to be repatriated thereafter to the Kingdom of Thailand.

(from the article quoted by Foxx - thank you)

 

So who eventually gets to spend the money?

 

[lordgrinz]

33 minutes ago, Tropicalevo said:

(from the article quoted by Foxx - thank you)

 

So who eventually gets to spend the money?

 

 

Any one of the many mia noi's of the highest ranking RTP members.

[Peabody]

Sirawan was sentenced to 50 years here in Thailand. Wonder if she's still in the clink?