The papers, co-produced by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) research and development committee and the Thailand Research Fund, suggest that accomplices should be heavily punished with up to 20 years’ imprisonment or a fine of up to Bt500,000.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission should also have the power to scrutinise policy planning in order to detect any early signs of policy corruption, the papers propose.

Having now been presented to Parliament, the papers will next be brought before the NLA as part of the assembly’s deliberations on anti-corruption organic law.

The head of the research effort, Udom Ratamarit, said that prosecutions in cases related to policy corruption had always been extremely problematic as they were rooted in the abuse of power, which hardly ever left any trail to follow.

Udom, who also helped draft the constitution that was approved in a referendum last August, added that such graft could be related to policy planning promoted by parties during election campaigns, and cited the rice-pledging scheme of the government of ex-premier Yingluck Shinawatra as an example.

One possible solution could be close scrutiny of policy-making decisions by the government and political parties, which should be able to explain the sources of expected spending, as well as all the consequences, he explained.

“It’s impossible to curb any policy, but it is possible to curb any potential damage resulting from such a policy,” he stressed.

NLA-affiliated academic Veerasak Saengsarapha said more penetrative scrutiny via legal instruments and tighter screening in regard to campaign policies, such as budget-worthiness and compliance with finance regulations, should contribute to preventing future policy corruption.