US Couple Arrested In Bangkok Film Festival Graft Probe

[lomatopo]

This is a bit like the CTX scandal, where GE had to report it in the U.S. but not much came of it here in Thailand.

Hundreds and hundreds of pages of documents came here to Thailand.

I was referring, albeit obliquely, to the fact that there was not any local prosecution AFAIK re: bribes with the CTX scanner deal, and also inferring that there would be no local prosecution for the film festival bribery scandal under discussion in this thread.

Perhaps you were interpreting my statement a bit too literally.

[Jingthing]

Its really not easy to get too worked up about this. Hardly the crime of the century, I hope they don't do too much time. They rot in jail, while Thaksin parties. There is no justice.

BTW: I enjoyed the film festivals. Hope to see them continue.

Edited December 19, 2007 by Jingthing

[ChiangMaiAmerican]

Ex-TAT governor will look into the film festival scandal

http://nationmultimedia.com/breakingnews/r...newsid=30059604

I guess she will be allowed to issue the final report too. Never mind that the FBI has a solid trail showing where and how the Greens transfered the "commissions". Banks in the UK are in deep as the recipient institutions though they would have had no cause to know what was going on. Never mind, TIT and any excuse she offers will be cheerfully accepted. Besides, the next government if a certain group gets to form it will likely pardon her too. The Greens on the otherhand can expect to do hard time with no chance of early release since it is the Federal system rather than a state or local system that is prosecuting the case.

Read the FBI affidvit and follow the money. In the affidavit the FBI agents even refers to a web page on the 2006 Bangkok Film Festival identifying the Thai official as the person who wrote the welcome and described herself as the President of the Bangkok International Film Festival and Governor of the TAT(see section B paragraph 14 of the FBI affidavit). You can't get much plainer than that without saying the name. The 2006 BKKIFF web page can still be found online. She can say what she wants but the bank records are real and verifiable.

http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/pr/press_rel...n-affidavit.pdf

http://www.bangkokfilm.org/2006/en/festival/welcome.aspx

Edited December 19, 2007 by ChiangMaiAmerican

[ChiangMaiAmerican]

Anyone have a guess as to who K.C. mentioned in the FBI affidavit as the governor's friend might be? The affidavit stated that K.C. was the recipient of some of the funds as proxy for the governor.

[karazyal]

US couple arrested in Bangkok Film Festival graft probe: justice

A group photo of 2005 Bangkok International Film Festival private dinner (L-R) Tourism Authority of Thailand Governor Juthamas Siriwan, actor Michael Douglas, Patricia Green of Festival Management Inc., Gerald Green the President of Festival Management, Inc., and director Joel Schumacher in Bangkok, in January 2005. Gerald Green and his wife Patricia have been arrested for paying 1.7 million dollars in bribes to a Thailand government official for the right to manage the festival, according to the Justice Department

A Los Angeles-based businessman and his wife have been arrested for paying 1.7 million dollars in bribes to a Thailand government official for the right to manage the Bangkok International Film Festival, the Justice Department said Tuesday.

Gerald Green, 75, and his wife Patricia, 52, were arrested after a criminal complaint was filed in Los Angeles on December 7.

Twenty three years older than his wife!!!

Wonder what the attraction was for her - money perhaps???

Do you think she might have ever had any criticisms concerning older Farangs with younger Thai girlfriends??

[ChiangMaiAmerican]

Anyone else notice the FBI had a tail on Green? Two agents were in the restuarant of the Oriental Hotel last July and personally observed a meeting between the governor and Green. Green was allegedly doctoring evidence after the FBI raided his businesses. Wonder if they got any photos and if they heard any of the conversation? Watch for more charges. If she was helping Green doctor the evidence she might actually get charged in the US for that one too not that she would ever be extradited. Stay tuned. The FBI is still tying up the ends on Greens obstruction of justice charges. It sounds like more to come.

Edited December 19, 2007 by ChiangMaiAmerican

[ChiangMaiAmerican]

FM to coordinate probing into film festival scandal

Foreign Ministry will coordinate with the investigation on the alleged bribe case which links arrested American couple with a former executive of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).

http://nationmultimedia.com/2007/12/19/hea...es_30059564.php

Lets see what happens.

[ChiangMaiAmerican]

Ex-TAT governor denies involvement in US' film fest scandal

Former tourism chief Jutamas Siriwan denied any involvement Wednesday in a major bribery scandal involving the Bangkok International Film Festival.

Jutamas, the former head of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) who is running for a Bangkok proportionate seat for the Puea Pandin party, said she would sue the US Justice Department if it linked her to the case.

She also denied a report that an amount of Bt330 million had been transferred to her family member.

Full story here: http://nationmultimedia.com/2007/12/19/hea...es_30059616.php

[JimsKnight]

Arrested for merely wanting to manage some film festival!

How more pathetic can this bunch of clowns in charge get?

It's not like they're organising multi-million drug smuggling operations is it?

It makes Thailand look like a....

Oh I forgot, it already is a 3rd world country

[lazeeboy]

Arrested for merely wanting to manage some film festival!

How more pathetic can this bunch of clowns in charge get?

It's not like they're organising multi-million drug smuggling operations is it?

It makes Thailand look like a....

Oh I forgot, it already is a 3rd world country

third world and getting worse

[lomatopo]

OK, so the 'Governor' let rigged, no-bid contracts go to the Greens and took a 17% kick-back. Would be interesting to see what other contracts she had oversight on? She must be so loaded.

Would be interesting to see who 'dimed' her and who CW1 and CW2 are? Am guessing she did not distribute the requisite "envelopes", and/or does not watch The Sopranos.

Is this story getting much local play? (doesn't seem to be) Any link to the upcoming election? (guessing no, hard to control release of DoJ docs.)

Also am amazed at how fathers and mothers blithely rope their children into these illegal activities here. Not too difficult to see why corruption remains endemic.

Thanks for the link to the affidavit, interesting to see the FBI still has a White Collar Crime division. I'm thinking the Green couple might have more skeletons?

[the gent]

Doubtful this would have seen the light of day had the graft emanated from the UK, a country whose culture has a long tradition of accommodating corruption whenever it suited vested interests, excluding the taxpayer's of course. The BAE/ Saudi bribery scandal and the unwillingness of the government to prosecute is perhaps the best example and one that has provoked the USA to frustration and anger.

Whatever one says about the yanks, they have an instinct for lancing boils that elsewhere would be allowed to fester and should be commended accordingly.

Of course, in Thailand one should also appreciate that adverse public accountability is very bad form and the height of rudeness. The poor woman's embarrassment must be a terrible thing and quite unwarranted particularly since the acquisition of wealth by any Thai is simply the celebration of one's good karma.

[ChiangMaiAmerican]

Would be interesting to see who 'dimed' her and who CW1 and CW2 are? Am guessing she did not distribute the requisite "envelopes", and/or does not watch The Sopranos.

According to the FBI Affidavit CW-2 is an accountant who was employed with a firm acquired by the Greens when they were setting up the companies to contract for the BKKIFF. Like Al Capone, the Greens undoing will likely be the accountant. CW-2 is the Greens' Louis Shumway. CW-1 and CW-2 are both residents of the US and are likely US citizens though this cannot be determined from the affidavit. More interesting is who is the CI that started this rolling. There is no suggestion whether they are Thai or American.

Edited December 19, 2007 by ChiangMaiAmerican

[ChiangMaiAmerican]

NLA endorses UN corruption pact

Thailand's National Legislative Assembly (NLA) gave a green light to a Cabinet proposal to sign the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).

Foreign Affairs Minister Nitya Pibulsonggram said the UNCAC - which has since been signed by over 100 countries - will help Thailand step up cooperation with the international community in fighting corruption.

The convention provides for international cooperation in the return of assets illicitly acquired by corrupt officials, including asset forfeiture in a foreign country.

http://bangkokpost.com/topstories/topstories.php?id=124554

Thats an interesting and positive development in light of recent news.

Edited December 19, 2007 by ChiangMaiAmerican

[ignoramus]

I suppose that I shouldn't have been too surprised about the TAT. In the early 90's I bought an expensive little item - it would have sat snugly in an earhole - which subsequently lost its glitter. I was so incredulous that it took me months of on and off double-checking to finally accept the fact that I'd been ripped off I kept thinking that I must be looking at it in an insufficiency light. Looks like 'policy was sub-standard' even then. My attitude to LOS changed, as I was a more trusting soul back then.

The Japanese provide gifts of appreciation to certain Pacific island nations, inter alia I guess, to win votes for their scientific studies of dead whales. I imagine Norway's vote assists in this regard, minus the gifting, as they eat 'em too.

[thaigene2]

Well, well...how interesting. The fact it's in a US court means all those excuses used in Thailand (contempt of court, etc) to protect the Thai hi-so's from their just desserts cannot be used to shield the guilty parties..You think the Thai papers will cover it when AP etc moves it on the wires? Or will some other excuse be used to shield them from Thai news exposure?

I know, this doesn't mean they'll ever be brought to book in LOS of course, but the fact their names will be hanging out there in public for all to see is VERY interesting - a bit like the Saudi Gems caper, no?

[sriracha john]

Also noted in the FBI affadavit that the accused Gerald Green had also received "large contracts" from TAT, for which he paid kickbacks to the "Governor", for the Thai Elite Card.

Another feather in the cap for that fine program.

Also worth noting that the "Governor" controlled a huge budget for TAT into the billions of baht. No reason to presume that Green and his film festival and Thai Elite Card contracts were the only programs she sought bribes on.

Edited December 19, 2007 by sriracha john

[sriracha john]

All over Thai TV news in which the "Governor" vows to sue the FBI...

More bizarre quotes below.

Also seems that Green came up short on cash for his movie in China that I posted about earlier.

Excerpts from:

Gerald Green arrested over Bangkok fest bribes

Juthamas Siriwan served as the governor of TAT between 2003 and 2006, and headed the festival during that time. She is now running for a parliamentary seat in the Dec 23 general election as a representative of the Puea Pandin Party.

An accompanying FBI affidavit identifies some 41 payments that were made to the Governor's daughter, who was not an official of the festival.

Pornsiri Manoharn took over the TAT job from Siriwan in late 2006. The deal with Film Festival Management was cancelled and the organisation of the festival's 2007 edition was transferred to a local team. The budget was also cut from Baht 200 million ($5.8 million) to less than $1.2 million.

Siriwan held a press conference Wednesday in Bangkok to face down the accusations.

"This is not directly involved with Thailand, and I'm not worried since it is only an accusation and the investigation is still under way. But if the US agency finds me being guilty I will counter-sue them since it's a case of mud-slinging and a groundless accusation."

Asked whether the scandal will have a negative impact on her newly launched political career, Siriwan said: "I don't think so, because it was something that happened many years ago and it was about internal conflicts between the company and staff who were fired. It has nothing to do with my running for parliament''.

The TAT has now set up a committee to look into the scandal. The Foreign Ministry has also been informed of the FBI allegation and said it will coordinate with the investigation.

Green's Viridian Entertainment was until recently attached as co-producer of Simon West's big budget Nanjing Massacre project, "Purple Mountain." But Li Xiangmin, the Chinese producer, told the Xinhua news agency that Viridian had not come up with its agreed $20 million of the $51 million budget and the Chinese switched to Omega Entertainment instead.

- Variety

Edited December 19, 2007 by sriracha john

[Trouble]

From reading the FBI report I would give ten to one odds that the confidential informant is a disgruntled employee of the Greens right here in Los Angeles. That's the way a lot of these things get brought out. Once the FBI had the lead they ran with it. It should make for interesting reading over the coming months. Unfortunately in the US legal system this case will grind on for months, if not years, before there is any kind of resolution to the case. That probably means until the Federal Prosecutors release the volumes of documents and information during the court proceedings there will be little action taken against the former Governor of TAT. You can bet the Thai authorities have been given some information by the US authorities, but surely they will be slow to act on it. We will just have to watch the scandal unfold VERY slowely.

[Tony Clifton]

Ex-TAT governor denies involvement in US' film fest scandal

Former tourism chief Jutamas to resign Thursday

The circus never shuts down.

[Jingthing]

More people reading this thread than attend the festivals ...

[distortedlink]

The awareness of this crime has surfaced because of investigations by the FBI.

Now the Thai authorities have to acknowledge this extreme case of corruption and take legal action against the American couple and the mystery TAT official who of course no one needs a degree in criminology to guess who she is.

At the end of the day, these characters will probably just do the pay off get me out of this mess quick solution and discretely become forgotten.

[kushmaulr]

dam_n, I wish the Justice Department would take a similar

look at Haliburton, Chaney and Iraq

[bri1guy]

But Bribes are how it works, they must not of bribed everyone..

[tettyan]

I find it quite excellent that the USA now prosecutes graft in foreign counties. This will eventually have a big impact on the most corrupt places, including Thailand. I hope the EU passes similar laws...

The EU has a similar law, they just don't enforce it. As a matter of fact, foreign bribes were even tax deductible in France until a few years ago.

Which goes to show yet again, that Thailand modeled its legal system off the wrong country.

[steffi]

Today the mystery official is claiming she'll sue the DOJ if she's linked to te investigation.

It should be relatively easy to prove if this woman or relatives aer "unusually" rich or not.

I find it quite excellent that the USA now prosecutes graft in foreign counties. This will eventually have a big impact on the most corrupt places, including Thailand. I hope the EU passes similar laws...

The EU has a similar law, they just don't enforce it. As a matter of fact, foreign bribes were even tax deductible in France until a few years ago.

Which goes to show yet again, that Thailand modeled its legal system off the wrong country.

[sriracha john]

You think the Thai papers will cover it when AP etc moves it on the wires? Or will some other excuse be used to shield them from Thai news exposure?

I know, this doesn't mean they'll ever be brought to book in LOS of course, but the fact their names will be hanging out there in public for all to see is VERY interesting

The first two Thai newspapers I looked at are both covering it:

Thai Rath:

http://www.thairath.co.th/online.php?secti...p;content=72319

Kom Chad Luek:

(their website doesn't have links to individual stories, but here is their headline)

มะกันปูด56ล.จ่ายคนททท.จัดงานจุฑามาศยันบริสุทธิ์ลาออกเพื่อแผ่นดินวันนี้

Covered on television news as well as per my earlier post.

[sriracha john]

Today the mystery official is claiming she'll sue the DOJ if she's linked to te investigation.

It should be relatively easy to prove if this woman or relatives aer "unusually" rich or not.

They already have with the 41 documented payments in UK, Singapore, and Isle of Jersey into the daughter's bank account that surpassed 1.7 million US dollars.

The same daughter who on her visa application to the USA stated her salaried income was 7,000 baht a month.

As previously mentioned, they have a mountain of evidence against Juthamas, her daughter, and the Greens.

Edited December 19, 2007 by sriracha john

[sriracha john]

Juthamas to quit in bribe row

The political career of the former governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Juthamas Siriwan, was in tatters last night against the backdrop of a bribery scandal involving the way TAT awarded the rights to manage international film festivals. Juthamas, a Deputy Leader and party-list candidate of Puea Pandin Party, could face a graft inquiry if the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) decides to step in. She denied any wrongdoing yesterday, but said she would submit her resignation from the party today so that its election campaign would not be affected. ''I am confident that I am not involved. If the inquiry implicates me, they are slinging mud. If this is the case, I will sue them,'' she said. Justice Permanent Secretary Jarun Pukditanakul yesterday called on the NCCC to launch an inquiry into the scandal without waiting for a complaint to be filed.

Continued here:

http://www.bangkokpost.net/News/20Dec2007_news01.php

[Seneque]

What is the use of TAT anyway (France, I believe has 70 millions tourists per year, and I don't think they have a TAF !).... can't their budget go the the ministry of education (if there is such thing here) ... TAT should, in fact, be a sub-branch of the ministry of education, people involved in the tourism activities needs to be educated, it is a serious business, which needs serious people ...

Anyway, just another (small) bribe from an idiot to another idiot .... by how much the military increased their budget this year (?) ... nobody seem to care that this country is going backward and that is a shame as most citizens (but less and less) don't deserve it ...