Among the express firms implicated were the Air Force and the Department of Highways.
Discussed: 12 Sep 2024 at 18: 54
The National Anti-Corruption Commission ( NACC ) says it is reviewing the allegations made in bribery cases against Thai officials in a recent US court case.
After its Thai company Wirtgen Thailand was found to have bribed employees at express agencies to get procurement contracts, Deere, a US-based agrarian and construction equipment company, agreed to pay$ 10 million to settle the SEC’s allegations.
The Department of Highways, Department of Rural Roads, and the Royal Thai Air Force were the culprits. The numerous instances of corruption, in which an unnamed Thai development organization was also involved, took position between 2017 and 2020, the SEC said in a statement.
” This is an essential, international corruption case that is of public attention”, said Nitiphan Prachuabmoh, the lieutenant secretary-general and official, Nitiphan Prachuabmoh.
According to him,” The NACC is currently obtaining knowledge and working with the SEC on this matter,” adding that the organization will ensure that both the business and the authorities responsible for the reward may become prosecuted.
ACM Panpakdee Pattanakul, the air pressure captain, said on Thursday that it was conscious of the information, adding that he was told the gifts were paid out between 2019 and 2020.
” The event happened in the past. I believe the air pressure does everything in a visible manner, and everything can be verified”, he said.
When asked to explain what the air pressure bought from Deere’s Thai company, ACM Panpakdee said it was design technology.
” We did n’t buy tractors, we bought asphalt spreaders to pave airport runways”, he said.
Sarawut Songsivilai, the director-general of the Department of Highways, said he was n’t aware of the claims until Wednesday, but promised to launch an urgent investigation.
The settlement reached on Tuesday in Washington settles allegations that Wirtgen Thailand, which is wholly owned by Deere, paid leaders unreliable wages in exchange for obtaining government contracts.
According to the SEC, the gifts came in the form of beautiful overseas trips, rub parlour services, and other inappropriate gifts. No information was made about the positions held by the pay consumers.
The SEC said payments were made even though the subsidiary’s code of conduct prohibited giving “absolutely everything” to inadequately control government authorities. In the United States, these deeds are punishable by the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA ).
The SEC said the settlement agreement reflected Illinois-based Deere’s assistance with the regulation, the termination of staff involved in wrongdoing, and improvements to compliance techniques and anti-bribery education.
According to Deere,” These allegations clearly violate the policies and ethical standards of our organization.”