The case has been submitted for the court’s consideration, the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s Information Department director-general Sek Wannamethee said yesterday.

Although the official had not been officially identified, the only deputy director attending the January 20 to 25 meeting on intellectual property was Suphat Saquandeekul. He was also scheduled to deliver a lecture on the subject at a local university.

Representatives of the Royal Thai Consulate General in Osaka were due to meet the official today, Sek said.

Deputy Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong said the ministry would wait for the completion of the Japanese legal process before deciding what action to take.

“The story has gone so big. We should not jump to conclusions yet and should listen to this accused official first. After that, the ministry will act based on fair justice,” Sontirat said.

SEVERAL anti-graft bodies have joined forces to investigate alleged bribes involving the UK-based jet engine maker Rolls-Royce and Thai Airways International (THAI), with Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ordering authorities to follow up on the scandal and adopt effective preventive measures.

According to one anti-corruption advocate’s estimate, bribery in Thailand could be worth as much as Bt200 billion per year based on a commission rate of 8 per cent in one of the Rolls-Royce deals involving THAI.

At present, combined procurements by state-owned enterprises, including THAI, are worth as much as Bt2 trillion per year.

Sansern Poljiak, secretary-general of National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), said Thai officials were scheduled to hold a teleconference call last night with counterparts at the US Justice Department to gather more evidence on cases involving THAI and other state agencies, which are alleged to have received huge kickbacks from Rolls-Royce and the US-based General Cable Corp in return for signing lucrative business deals.

Besides THAI’s cumulative US$36.3-million (Bt1.3-billion) bribery cases that allegedly occurred between 1991 and 2005, state-owned PTT units as well as the Provincial Electricity Authority, the Metropolitan Electricity Authority and TOT plc all face allegations that they were involved in separate bribery cases related to the purchases of industrial engines, cables and wires from 2002 to 2013.

Sansern said more evidence from US authorities would be used to further the investigation of Thai officials who allegedly took bribes and that the NACC committee would hold a meeting after the US Justice Department call to speed up the investigation.

Prayong Preeyajit, secretary-general of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PAAC), said his organisation, the NACC, the Office of Auditor-General and the Anti-Money Laundering Organisation (AMLO) had joined forces to pursue legal and other actions against suspects in the cases.

Prayong added that AMLO’s law could be invoked if the statutes of limitations had expired in some cases.

In addition, the prime minister said he also wanted agencies concerned to close loopholes to prevent illegal payments in state procurement deals.

The PAAC chief said he is optimistic that there would be quick results from the investigations because the current management of both THAI and PTT had launched their own internal probes to complement the government’s official investigations.

Sansern said officials were gathering evidence from both overseas and domestic sources to identify the recipients of illegal payments, after which a subcommittee would be set up to build cases for prosecution.

He said investigators would confirm who was involved in the scandals based on details of the cases provided by the US and UK authorities, which had evidence based on Rolls-Royce’s internal memos and other documents regarding the exact dates of bribe payments via the company’s regional and Thailand-based agents.

Rolls-Royce and General Cable Corp have already reached settlement deals with US and UK authorities on the charges after paying huge fines and providing internal memos and other documents detailing the illegal payments.

The National Reform Steering Assembly will also apply lessons learned from the Rolls-Royce case and others to propose more effective mechanisms to prevent fraud and bribery in state procurement, according to ACM Viravit Kongsak, a subcommittee vice chairman from the assembly.

The department’s director-general, Thosapone Dansuputra, said his deputy was detained for alleged theft and that officials from the Thai Consular Office and Trade Office in Osaka as well as the Thai Embassy in Tokyo were talking to officials for a chance to visit and provide him with legal assistance.

Though Thosapone did not name the official, the only deputy director attending the January 20-25 meeting on intellectual property was Suphat Saquandeekul. He was also scheduled to deliver a lecture on the subject at a local university, Thosapone said.

“He was to return by Wednesday night, but now I don’t know how long he has to stay in Japan,” the director-general told reporters. Sankei.com reported that the suspect was arrested last Friday when hotel staff found three paintings missing and filed a report at the local police station at around 7.15am on the same day.

Recordings on security cameras showed a man taking three paintings from the corridors on the 9th and 10th floors, and the paintings were then found in the suspect’s baggage while the suspect was checking out, the website read. The online report also claimed that the suspect has admitted to his guilt and said he was “working for the Commerce Ministry”.

Suphat is reportedly familiar with Japan as he graduated from a Japanese university, is fluent in the language and previously worked in the Thai Trade Office in Japan and other countries. He has also translated a book entitled “Gates to Japan: Its People and Society”.

The 60-year-old official, who is set to retire in September, may end up losing his job if found guilty of theft, Thosapone said. The ministry has a clear policy about officials maintaining good discipline and complying with law and regulations, he said, noting that his deputy is a good official with a good working record.

His colleagues at the ministry said the news of his arrest was a shock, because the suspect is an honest and unassuming man who always teaches his subordinates to be honest.

Speaking in his capacity as a board member of the Anti-Corruption Organisation of Thailand – which held a

seminar on the Rolls-Royce bribery case that allegedly involves Thai Airways International (THAI) and PTT –

Banyong said bribery was a large and expanding industry that involved many people who were earning their

living as “coordinators” in the sale of goods to state agencies

Based on a reported 8-per-cent commission rate, the bribery industry in Thailand could be worth Bt200 billion

as the expenses of state firms amounted to over Bt2 trillion annually, he said.

“The bribery process stretches very far. It is not only involving state enterprises but it has always existed in state

agencies and continues to expand because no one has ever been caught,” Banyong said.

“[If you ask me] if the industry disappeared with the coup d’etat, this is a question that I won’t answer.”

Banyong, a former board member of THAI, said the problems not only involved officers of state enterprises

but “people who have superior power over the organisations”.

“Authorities, either politicians or others who get into power by any method, have the power over the

procurements [of state agencies],” he said.

To truly tackle the issue, Banyong suggested Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha should implement “institutional

reform” of governance systems of state enterprises by April as scheduled. The plan involves a new law to

separate the roles of policymakers, regulators and operators.

National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) secretary-general Sansern Poljieak said the agency was

gathering information on the Rolls-Royce case from local and foreign sources and had reported some findings to

its board of commissioners on Tuesday.

Regarding a proposal that the prime minister should exercise absolute power under Article 44 of the interim

charter to allow the NACC to directly contact foreign agencies, Sansern said that while it would speed up the

NACC’s work, it might jeopardise other laws and international protocols.

Asked if the NACC would be able to identify the wrongdoers in the Rolls-Royce scandal, Sansern said:

“Maybe.”

Professor Medhi Krongkaew, a former NACC commissioner, told the seminar that investigations to identify

people involved in the Rolls-Royce case should not be difficult as reports by anti-graft agencies in the United

Kingdom and the United States included specific details and incidents.

He said the NACC would shortly release further information on more Thai organisations that have been

involved in bribes with foreign companies.

However, Sansern declined to confirm whether there would be more revelations.

THAI’s executive vice president Kanok Thongpurk said the airlines’ board – which has appointed two

committees to probe the Rolls-Royce case and its procurement procedures – has taken the issue seriously and

would not “pull any punches” in their investigation.

He said THAI might file a lawsuit for damages caused to the airline regarding the purchase of overpriced

engines as a result of the alleged bribery fees.

PTT chief executive Tevin Vongvanich told the seminar the energy giant might also resort to legal action for

damages caused by the alleged bribes.

He said foreign suppliers who wanting to do business with PTT would be required to register their

representatives and agents with the company.

The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has alleged there was a conspiracy to corrupt or a failure to prevent

bribery by Rolls-Royce in seven countries including China, India and Thailand.

In regards to Thailand, the firm admitted to paying more than US$36 million (Bt1.3 billion) between 1991 and

2005 to agents to help it to secure three separate contracts to supply Trent airplane engines to THAI.

In a separate US action, the Department of Justice claims that Rolls-Royce had paid more than $11m in corrupt

commissions, knowing part of the money would be used to bribe officials at PTT and its subsidiary PTT

Exploration and Production.

The payments spanned a decade from about 2003 to 2013 and were related to contracts for equipment and

after-market products and services, the US department alleged.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said the latest corruption perception index launched by

Transparency International needed to be looked at in detail to determine why scores had dropped.

“It’s not that all are bad, don’t look at Thailand like that,” Prayut said, arguing that the fight against corruption

had actually been strengthened because he had ordered investigations if cases are raised.

In the Berlin-based Transparency International’s index, Thailand dropped to a base score of 35, standing at the

101st rank among countries on the list.

The worsening score was attributed political turmoil, the organisation’s report said, adding that government

repression, a lack of independent oversight and the deterioration of rights had eroded the public’s confidence

in the country.

The report found that the majority of countries in the Asia-Pacific were ranked in the bottom half of the 2016

index, while 19 out of 30 countries in the region scored 40 or less out of 100.

More than two-thirds of the 176 countries and territories worldwide in the index fell below the midpoint of the

scale from zero, “highly corrupt”, to 100, “very clean”. The global average score was a paltry 43, indicating

endemic corruption in the public sector worldwide.

Top-scoring countries were far outnumbered by corruption-plagued countries where citizens faced tangible

consequences from corruption on a daily basis, the report said.