Action Needed On Bangkok Film Festival Bribe Scandal

[webfact]

EDITORIAL

Action needed on film festival bribe scandal

By The Nation

With the 'bribers' given a jail term in the US, it's now Thailand's turn to act

The "bribers" have been punished, so what about the alleged recipient of the bribe? The latest development in the Bangkok film festival bribery scandal has put more pressure on the Thai authorities, who have basically six months to make progress on charges against former Tourism Authority of Thailand chief Juthamas Siriwan - before the American "bribers" complete their jail terms, that is.

The Los Angeles movie executives charged in the case were on Thursday sentenced to six months in jail after being found guilty of paying US$1.8 million (Bt57.4 billion) in bribes to win the right to manage the Bangkok International Film Festival. Gerald Green, 78, and his wife Patricia Green 55, who were convicted last September on charges of conspiracy, violating anti-corruption laws and money-laundering, also face six months home detention and must pay US$250,000 restitution.

The bribe was allegedly paid to Juthamas, whose indictment in the US has basically led to nothing here. Her whereabouts have not been known, and legal procedures concerning parallel charges against her in Thailand have been all but stalled. Agencies involved - the National Counter Corruption Commission, the Attorney General's Office as well as the Foreign Ministry - all seem to have no clue on how to proceed properly. When asked if she had to be extradited, they cited the unfinished domestic case, but when asked why the domestic case was going on forever, they said they were waiting for developments in the United States.

The US court has wrapped up the Greens case, having shown evidence that gave details how the bribes were paid. The Greens, it was said, paid US$1.8 million in bribes to the former Thai tourism chief's daughter, via bank accounts in Singapore, Jersey and Britain set up in the names of Juthamas' daughter and a friend.

Before she disappeared, Juthamas vehemently denied involvement in the bribery scandal, which allegedly took place when she was TAT governor, during the Thaksin government. Thai investigators have long ago established that irregularities concerning the film festival involved bribery, favouritism and suspicious budgets that were within Jutamas's power to approve, but basically that's how far things have gone locally. The National Counter Corruption Commission has been slow, and reportedly only asked her to respond to allegations last month, meaning she has not even been formally charged.

Never before have Thailand and the United States had parallel legal procedures in the same corruption case. It's obvious which country has moved faster and appeared keener to bring the culprits to justice. The American couple could not escape the hand of their country's foreign business law, which prohibits such practice. The same law had made waves in Thailand but the big bribery scandal over the CTX airport scanners had not come to anything.

The ball is now in the Thai court, and both countries, along with the rest of the world, are in for some unique precedents. The judiciary in one country is supposed to be independent from another country's, yet can the Thai justice system set Juthamas free after what's happened in America? In this era, corruption can encompass continents, meaning contradictory rulings could seriously complicate things and cause severe legal headaches.

Paying or receiving "under the table" is Thailand's elementary form of corruption. Thais pay to get their children into good schools, to avoid military draft, to breach some construction rules, to avoid bigger traffic charges, to win government concessions or contracts, etc. Did the Greens just "go with the flow" when trying to do businesses in Thailand? Or did they come with a briber's mentality from the start?

Despite the unprecedented parallel legal processes in two countries trying to solve what seems like a very straightforward case of bribery, such a simple question may never get a simple answer.

-- The Nation 2010-08-15

Related topic:

[Thailand]

I am stunned.

I have just seen bribery and corruption and Thailand all mentioned in the same article, surely there is nothing untoward going on here we should know about?

[Loaded]

'corruption' is part of the 'normal' way of doing business here. It goes back to the reign of Rama 5 when crown appointed provincial governors were allowed to use their position to compensate themselves for receiving no salary. This system is called 'gin muang', or eat the country. It's endemic, widespread and tolerated still today. A government officer taking a small backhander isn't viewed as negatively by Thais as it is by farangs. Farangs view corruption in very black and white terms; Thais don't.

[craigt3365]

For sure...and it's the "normal" way of doing business in many parts of the world. Thailand is just one of them. China seems to be trying to crack down on this....even handing out the death penalty in a few cases....

[asiawatcher]

Interestingly within the film circles Siriwan was known as Ms 30%, her standard charge for having the TAT involved. Simply add the figure and she would approve the deal. Last seen near her home in Ekkamai funny how Thai Authorities can find pedophiles, mafia, motorcycle drive by shootings etc - but cannot find one of the most 'connected' powerful woman in Thailand. Her status in Thai society and her wealth (the BKK International Film Festival was only 'one' in how many other cases) seems to be creating the Thai smoke screen for the elite! As mentioned by "loaded', payoffs are a way of doing business here and endemic. I think this one rivals her close friend, Thaksin Shinawatra. They are good friends - so police ? Forget it. Justice will never be served and remember - the Greens were jailed based on 'demands' placed on them. They did not 'bribe' per se, it was demanded of them so get the wording right in The Nation report. The Greens may be wily but they are not out and out crooks unlike the counterpart in the scandal. And has the money been seized, bank accounts frozen et al? T.i.T.

Edited August 15, 2010 by asiawatcher

[bangkokburning]

Because there's no local corruption to go after...

[Garnethoyes]

If she is connected to Thaksin, as were the CTX scanners, why doesn't the present government or previous coup leaders, go after these cases ?

[otherstuff1957]

If she is connected to Thaksin, as were the CTX scanners, why doesn't the present government or previous coup leaders, go after these cases ?

Because the police and judges know that there is a good chance that Thaksin will be back in power, either directly or indirectly, in the fairly near future. They know that the former TRTs are ruthless and vindictive. So, they are going to do their best to tread a narrow path between displeasing the people who are currently in power and the people who will probably be in power in the future.

[BCP]

I think they should make a movie about it .

[animatic]

Well one interesting idea is that:

Corruption is viewed as such from places where it has been eliminated or minimized.

While where it is quotidian S.O.P., it is looked at as opportunity and cost of doing business,

UNLESS it is compared directly and negatively to the non-corrupt environment,

it can bee seen by some as just a different system leading to the same result.

The problem comes if the corruption becomes so huge that it removes the intrinsic value

from the product or services it is parasitic too, and becomes the greater,

diminishing the needed product or service to a negligible amount.

Then the product is the corruption, and the public, business or personal service,

is just the vehicle to support the corruption.

This may well describe much of the public sector works here.

Edited August 15, 2010 by animatic

[yesdavy]

Interestingly within the film circles Siriwan was known as Ms 30%, her standard charge for having the TAT involved. Simply add the figure and she would approve the deal. Last seen near her home in Ekkamai funny how Thai Authorities can find pedophiles, mafia, motorcycle drive by shootings etc - but cannot find one of the most 'connected' powerful woman in Thailand. Her status in Thai society and her wealth (the BKK International Film Festival was only 'one' in how many other cases) seems to be creating the Thai smoke screen for the elite! As mentioned by "loaded', payoffs are a way of doing business here and endemic. I think this one rivals her close friend, Thaksin Shinawatra. They are good friends - so police ? Forget it. Justice will never be served and remember - the Greens were jailed based on 'demands' placed on them. They did not 'bribe' per se, it was demanded of them so get the wording right in The Nation report. The Greens may be wily but they are not out and out crooks unlike the counterpart in the scandal. And has the money been seized, bank accounts frozen et al? T.i.T.

It would appear, culturally, locally, that Juthamas would be considered a good business person had she extorted such "commissions" from Thai entrepreneurs, but the fact that she stuck it to farangs raises her to the level of super hero. To punish her because somebody gave her money just cannot make sense to most of those around us. There are so many decent, dedicated, effective individuals at TAT that truly care and are principled people. However, when a tourism ministry has its hands on sports and film festivals, one has to ask, why? We know now, wink-wink, in spite of feeble attempts to justify non-tourism entities, not the least of which is the very expensive, "slick" Architectural-Digest-quality magazine they produce in Thai language and distribute to Thai people. Tourism ministries just do not advertise their own country to their own citizens. They are already there! They represent zero incremental tourism revenue for the country. Only local special interests in "connected" destinations are being promoted with national taxpayer money from "unconnected" destinations. While there is denial about LOS tourism being driven by sex trade, the most recent TV commercial shows a man alone, engaged in kind of a fantasy of "Thailand, it's just as you remember it." This ad is not aimed at families; it ignores new business; it is not about beaches, or cultural touring opportunities, the fundamental attractions that drive F.I.T., leisure group, and M.I.C.E. travelers. It shows the solitary man looking around the city, Bangkok. Who identifies with this commercial? There we go again, exercising a knack for pointing out the perfectly obvious.

[Boater]

Corruption is a way of life here ... I do feel sorry for the greens as the tat governer probably said who ever pays the most wins the job ! Even in my buiness I have to pay of local goverment workers to get my work done .... If I don't it gets to the back of the queue ...

[somtampet]

Hi-so standards as usual.

This is why i find it incredible that guys on here BOAST about having a hi-so chinese thai educated Wife/gf when its obvious they are the money grabbing scum of society here in Thailand

[taff33]

57.4 billion baht thats a lot of palms she can grease,there must be plenty of money in her / familly accounts to be frozen or given to worthy causes. But money can buy you lots of time and freedom.

[Phatcharanan]

Hi-so standards as usual.

This is why i find it incredible that guys on here BOAST about having a hi-so chinese thai educated Wife/gf when its obvious they are the money grabbing scum of society here in Thailand

Jealousy.............a very sad emotion.

[surangw]

it would be hard to find someone to really crack down on corruption, as they fear they would be implicated in one way or another.

[krading]

I'm just dreading to think of what will happen here when the king 'reaches nirvina'.

I think

[chantorn]

Reminds you on Airport CTX scanners? Same thing. US went to jail (or something like that), and Thailand did nothing. TiT.

[yellow1red1]

Elite Corruption Instruction Manual, page 157.

'on rare occasions, to get caught, go on world holiday for a some years, wait for charges to runout'

(like former Pm Chuan Leekpai's brother, in 'alleged' embezzlement of millions from K bank.)

Arnie Swartzengere She WILL be back!

CUT THE MONEY from her!

[chantorn]

I'm just dreading to think of what will happen here when the king 'reaches nirvina'.

I think

Maybe it is my English, but I don't understand what you mean by " the king reaches nirvina" ?

[CarlBkk]

This is one scandal that Abhisit would do well from having some personal intervention in solving. If Juthumas doesn't move abroad or have some serious sessions of cosmetic surgery and ID reinvention, it will be too obvious to see her running around dainty bakery shops before long.

[metroman]

I am not going to hold my breath waiting for a conviction and a jail term.

[bristolgeoff]

if this happened in thailand,probadly not make the news.it happened in amercia so they went to goal.

[hegenious]

I'm just dreading to think of what will happen here when the king 'reaches nirvina'.

I think

Maybe it is my English, but I don't understand what you mean by " the king reaches nirvina" ?

I think he meant 'reaches Nirvana'. Another way of saying "passes away", "goes to heaven" or put more simply, dies.

[Buchholz]

Convicted American money launderer Gerald Green with former TAT Governor Juthamas Siriwan

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It seems former TAT Governor Juthamas has failed to meet with the National Anti-Corruption Commission sub-committee investigators before yesterday's deadline that was given to her. She had applied to send a representative and written statements to the NACC, but they wanted to question her in person.

In the absence of her testimony, they will forward their findings to the full NACC which meets in January.

The American FBI has forwarded the financial records detailing her alleged bribery and that, too, will be included in the sub-committee findings sent to NACC.

.

[linglop]

[Buchholz]

Juthamas is just delaying the inevitable. The FBI documents clearly show a bribery trail of money for herself and her daughter.

It's a slam dunk conviction... if they can ever get it in motion to a trial.