Court says the 30-year-old situation against the original Thai Airways chairman has weakened evidence.
PUBLISHED: 29 Apr 2025 at 18: 08
Thanong Bidaya, the former finance minister, was found not guilty of bribery in a deal to supply Thai Airways International ( THAI ) with Rolls-Royce engines more than 30 years ago.
The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct cases dismissed the case on Tuesday, arguing that Mr. Thanong and the other defendant’s case’s information lacked sufficient weight.
Eight years after the initial allegations of wrongdoing by the UK-based website manufacturer in dealings with Thailand were made in a British court, the decision is made.
The Rolls-Royce prosecution revealed the bribes started in 1991, when Gen Suchinda Krapayoon’s military routine was in power, and continued until the coup that ended the Thaksin government in 2006, when the indictment revealed the bribes started when the Thaksin government was ousted in 2006.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission ( NACC ) filed the case after it discovered evidence that Mr. Thanong had violated the State Employees Offences Act while acting as THAI chairman and advisor on long-term investments by the national carrier.
Kaweepan Ruengpaka, a previous vice-president for financing at the airport, was the other accused.
After the Attorney General’s Office made a decision not to hear the case, the NACC made the decision to return the circumstance to the company.
Rolls-Royce admitted to having a misconduct to the British Serious Fraud Office ( SFO ) in January 2017, and the NACC launched its investigation.
Rolls-Royce admitted to paying about 254 million ringgit to people in comments to the SFO to support it close a deal with the Thai government to obtain Rolls-Royce Trent 800 vehicles for six Boeing 777 plane and Trent 500 vehicles for seven Airbus A340 plane.
According to a statement of facts prepared in a British court, the bribery occurred between 1991 and 2005 and involved payments of$ 36.3 million ( 1.28 billion baht ) to “regional intermediaries.”
According to the report, some of the income was for “agents of the state of Thailand and Thai Airways people.”
In August 2022, the NACC determined that Mr. Thanong and Mr. Kaweepan had violated the State Employees Offences Act following an investigation involving many former cabinet ministers and Vietnamese professionals.