Bribery Spotlight On Hollywood

[churchill]

Hollywood studios and film producers are set to face increasing scrutiny from anti-fraud officials, as a result of a trial involving incidents in Bangkok that could have repercussions across the entertainment sector.

Gerald Green, an American film producer, and his wife, Patricia, are alleged to have ­violated the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by paying bribes to a Thai tourism official. It is claimed that the alleged bribes were offered to obtain contracts to run an international film festival in Bangkok.

Green’s trial in Los Angeles, which is entering its second week, is the first FCPA case to involve the entertainment industry. The case suggests that Hollywood has joined the pharmaceuticals and energy industries as a target of anti-fraud enforcers at the US department of justice.

continued http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4f79c900-8508-11...144feabdc0.html

[churchill]

Bribery: Thailand's favourite pastime

By The Nation

Published on August 14, 2009

The Bangkok International Film Festival scandal is just the tip of yet another iceberg

Is it becoming a race to punish the alleged bribers and the bribed? We shall see, but things are definitely heating up for Jutamas Siriwan, former governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. The opening of a trial in the United States of those who allegedly paid money to Thai officials between 2002 and 2006 to get special treatment in the Bangkok International Film Festival means that she will be worried as much by what happens in the US courts as by the local legal process.

It will be interesting to see how things go. It is rare for two countries to have parallel legal procedures in the same corruption case. While a verdict in one country may not be legally binding in the other - meaning that a "guilty" verdict against the alleged bribers in America may not necessarily mean Jutamas will automatically lose her case here - we are in for some unique precedents. In this interconnected world, corruption cases can span across continents.

Jutamas' name has reportedly come up in US court transcripts. Locally, she has vehemently denied involvement in the bribery scandal, which allegedly took place when she was TAT governor during the Thaksin government. Local investigators have established that irregularities concerning the film festival involved bribery, favouritism and suspicious budgets that were within Jutamas's power to approve. The case has been forwarded to the National Anti-Corruption Commission, which is expected to make a decision soon on how to proceed.

continued http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2009/08/14...on_30109738.php

-- The Nation 14/08/09

[slapout]

Statue of Limitations will come into play before it's done.

[churchill]

Film festival inquiry may zoom in on tax dodging

The National Anti-Corruption Commission may add tax evasion to the issues it is probing in the Bangkok International Film Festival scandal.

NACC commissioner Vicha Mahakhun said the commission would consider looking into tax evasion as well as it digs into the alleged 63-million-baht bribe paid by an American couple to clinch the contract from the Tourism Authority of Thailand to organise the film festival in 2004-2006.

Mr Vicha made his comments after a US court started the trial of Gerald and Patricia Green on Thursday.

The couple have been accused of paying about 63 million baht in the form of commission fees to former TAT governor Juthamas Siriwan in order to win the contract to organise the film festival from 2004 to 2006. The money had been transferred into bank accounts belonging to Mrs Juthamas' daughter.

-- Bangkok Post 29/08/09

[thaihome]

Not sure why the FT chose to use the word fraud instead of bribery.

TH

[bonobo]

Not sure why the FT chose to use the word fraud instead of bribery.

TH

Fixed.

[KevinBloodyWilson]

Not sure why the FT chose to use the word fraud instead of bribery.

TH

Fixed.

I may be out of line here but I seriously doubt that any Thai will be prosecuted in Thailand for swindling money out of anyone except a Thai pooyay. Thais do not see this as a crime, if they did, you would see swindlers and fraudsters imprisoned every day.

Get used to it guys, Thais do not see swindling as anything other than business as usual. No chance the Thai end of this will do any jail time at all.

[bendejo]

I've been wondering when something like this would happen.

Essentially it comes down to "if you go abroad and do something that is illegal in your home country, then when you return home you can be prosecuted for it."

The precedent was set a few years ago, and they chose a particularly unsympathetic practice to focus on when pushing it through in certain Western countries (I won't mention it here for the sake of not using those words, but most you should recall (hint: a former rocker with initials GG)). No one could argue against that without themselves coming under suspicion of it. Well, now they're extending it to other things, and selectively so.

Here again, I'm not supporting what they did, but those of us who live in these parts well know how things are accomplished.

So, if a Yank goes to Tijuana (Mexican border town across from California) for the day, gets stopped by a cop for a traffic violation and slips him $5 to get out of it, can he be arrested when he crosses back in? You bet!