Pm Insists Thai Innocence In Airport Scanner Scam

[george]

PM insists Thai innocence in airport scanner scam

BANGKOK: -- The initial results of an investigation into the bomb detector scam of the Second Bangkok International Airport, or the Suvarnabhumi Airport, reveal no indications of bribery, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra insisted today.

Mr. Thaksin, who is under intense opposition pressure to get to the bottom of the alleged bribery scandal, said although he had not yet read the 800-page report submitted to him last night by Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, it did not point to corruption.

The scandal erupted when the US authorities revealed that Patriot Business Consultant had bought CTX bomb scanners from InVision Technologies at a cost of Bt1.504 billion, but had quoted a price of Bt1.832 billion to ITO Joint Venture, the contractor for the Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Yesterday Mr. Wissanu was quoted as saying that the investigative report, prepared by a team headed by Comptroller-General Boonsak Jiampreecha, left some questioned unanswered.

Mr. Thaksin said that Mr. Wissanu would issue an official announcement of the findings, for which there was clear evidence.

But he confirmed that the report tallied with the findings of a US investigation, which did not point to the involvement of politicians or civil servants in underhand dealings.

Meanwhile, the opposition Democrat and Chat Thai Parties have agreed to soon lodge a censure motion against the government over the CTX 900 bomb scanner scam.

"Although we can only censure the government on its policy concerning the CTX bomb detector procurement, not on an alleged corrupt practice due to insufficient votes in the House of Representatives, and given our minority vote in the House, it's likely that we'll eventually defeated, we have determined to go ahead with the censure motion for the sake of the public benefit", the opposition whip told journalists here today.

--TNA 2005-06-07

[opothai]

who started this rumour that thier was any corruption of the thai government officials, absolute scandalous behavior. squeaky clean they are.

[Khutan]

That report does have some interesting quotes though.

he had not yet read the 800-page report submitted to him last night

Thats reasonable. I don't thank many people could read an 800 page riveting story, in an evening, let alone an 800 page government report.

at a cost of Bt1.504 billion, but had quoted a price of Bt1.832 billion

Yes but don't they have to install them and put a warranty on the as well as train the operators for each machine ? That represents a gross profit of about 18% and the Nett profit is more like 10 - 15%. Normal margins for this sort of thing are more like 20%.

[george]

PM: Suriya will survive scandal

Opposition settles on incompetence motion

BANGKOK: -- Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra dismissed speculation yesterday that Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit would be sacked over the CTX procurement scandal, claiming a letter from the US Justice Department would clear up the issue, sources said.

Speaking at the Thai Rak Thai party's weekly meeting, Mr Thaksin said the government did not have to worry about the opposition's non-confidence motion next week as everything was coming together as planned.

``The letter from the States will arrive in a day or two, while the 800-page report of the investigation conducted by Deputy Prime Minister Visanu Krue-ngarm looks very promising,'' he said.

``As I have said before, there are people out to get us, but how we have conducted ourselves over the past four years, especially in the eyes of public, puts Thai Rak Thai in good stead to endure such ludicrous bombardments.''

Sources said Mr Thaksin assured the meeting a cabinet reshuffle resulting in Mr Suriya's removal would never happen.

Mr Thaksin, however, earlier in the day told reporters at Government House that he had still not read Mr Visanu's ``in-depth'' investigation report, but was certain that no Thai government officials had taken kickbacks.

Deputy party spokesman Sutin Klungsang said the non-confidence motion debate would be the most boring ever because when the letter from the US arrived it would all be over and the opposition would be left picking up the pieces.

Mr Thaksin was said to be unhappy with the letter sent by the US Justice Department through the US embassy in Bangkok, and requested clarification.

A source said the letter had reached the prime minister last Wednesday. The source did not reveal what the US department said in the letter, but said that its content was similar to what a US embassy official told the press on May 20.

The prime minister was not satisfied with the letter's wording, the source said, because it did not express the issue the way he wished. Mr Thaksin later discussed his concerns with US ambassador Ralph Boyce, the source said.

An official letter of inquiry was sent to the US Justice Department about two weeks ago through the US embassy after US authorities found InVision and its distributor might have tried to bribe Thai officials to seal the CTX 9000 luggage bomb-detector deal for the new Suvarnabhumi airport.

Their conclusion stirred up doubts about the transparency of the project.

Senate anti-corruption committee chief Pratin Santiprabhob, meanwhile, wondered how Mr Thaksin could conclude that there were no irregularities in the CTX agreement when he had read neither the report nor the letter thoroughly.

``I am in no position to judge the prime minister, but I encourage him to read all the documents first before making comments,'' he said.

The Democrat party yesterday decided to file a censure motion against Mr Suriya, accusing him of incompetence in failing to prevent corruption in the CTX deal.

Democrat leader Abhisit Vejjajiva said there was clear evidence of corruption in the procurement but the government failed to take appropriate action in the matter.

With only 123 votes, the opposition can only grill the transport minister but not seek his impeachment, which requires at least a quarter of the MPs or 125 votes.

Opposition members will be unable to accuse Mr Suriya of corruption, but can raise points to support their claim that the minister was ineffective in corruption suppression.

The constitution requires one-fifth of House votes, or 100 votes, for a motion to debate the competence of a minister.

Mr Abhisit said the debate would be conducted in line with the constitution, rejecting suggestions that the Democrats might take the opportunity to stray into other areas affecting other ministers, even the prime minister.

The opposition did not wish to launch a censure motion now but ``the CTX issue concerns the national reputation and there is clear evidence of corruption'', he said.

He said the motion would force the government to at least partially reveal portions of the request sent to the US Justice Department seeking clarification of the CTX issue but which so far it has kept secret.

Mr Abhisit said the opposition would do its best during the debate to provide a complete picture of the CTX issue for the public.

Asked if the debate would also target other cabinet ministers, Mr Abhisit said the answer would depend on the findings of the government's committee investigating the CTX issue.

--Bangkok Post 2005-06-08

[sriracha john]

PM insists Thai innocence in airport scanner scam 

The initial results of an investigation into the bomb detector scam of the Bangkok International Airport, or the Suvarnabhumi Airport, reveal no indications of bribery, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra insisted today.

Mr. Thaksin, who is under intense opposition pressure to get to the bottom of the alleged bribery scandal, said  although he had not yet read the 800-page report submitted to him last night by Deputy Prime Minister Wissanu Krea-ngam, it did not point to corruption.

But he confirmed that the report tallied with the findings of a US investigation, which did not point to the involvement of politicians or civil servants in underhand dealings.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That report does have some interesting quotes though.

he had not yet read the 800-page report submitted to him last night

Thats reasonable. I don't thank many people could read an 800 page riveting story, in an evening, let alone an 800 page government report.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I found the most interesting quote to be that he "insists" there is no wrong-doing, that there is no indication of bribery in the report, and that he "confirmed" the report jived with a US report.

If he hasn't read the report yet.... how can be so definitive???

btw, the tv news last night said Thaksin reported he would take a week to read it and then issue a finding and then release it to the public. Guess that TNA has the inside track on things and can release next week's news this week.

[Mid]

Politicians accused of seeking bribes

FBI report identifies prominent figures in bomb-scanner scandal

Fri, July 6, 2007 : Last updated 23:57 pm

Graft busters have received a report from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that identifies prominent politicians who demanded bribes for the procurement of CTX 9000 bomb scanners for Suvarnabhumi Airport.

"The FBI outlined pertinent negotiations on the CTX deal and revealed the discovery of the US Justice Department to confirm Thai politicians were involved in the bribe demands," a source said.

The FBI report was sent to an investigative panel appointed by the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) to uncover culprits in the CTX deal. It is being translated from English and will be used as prosecution evidence.

The source said that in spite of the incriminating evidence supplied by the FBI, the panel was not expecting to conclude its report any time soon because of the difficulty in getting testimony from some witnesses.

After months of searching, the panel only recently found the address of a Japanese man suspected of acting as a broker for bribes in the deal.

The man used to work with a contractor for the airport and was targeted for graft indictments by the AEC.

nationmultimedia.com

[A_Traveller]

As I posted previously, when In-Vision {the manufacturer of CTX's} was taken over by GE, GE undertook an investigation {possibly as a pre-emptive action} and secured a deal with the DoJ re In-Vision.

There are I believe at least 2 reports, by the FBI and the DoJ. I believe that the original letter came from the DoJ report which is still sealed(?) To quote my post

questionable practices {by the third party distributors} were identified and a fine paid [by GE] during the purchase process.

Regards