Thailand’s anti-corruption commission to probe Rolls Royce bribes
There are enough facts and witnesses to investigate the allegations, announced the NACC.
The commission added that the probe will
centre on the transport minister and deputy minister, the Thai Airways’s board
and its long-term investment sub-committee between 2004 and 2005 over a deal to
buy six passenger jets with Rolls-Royce engines.
In January 2016, Britain’s Serious Fraud
Office announced Rolls Royce paid huge sums over three decades to win contracts
in Indonesia, Thailand, India, Nigeria, China and Malaysia.
The British jet engine producer admitted
to wrongdoing and agreed to pay an 808 million USD fine. However, the UK probe
has sparked follow up investigations in some of the countries where the bribes
were received.
The UK fraud probe, its largest case so
far, found some 36 million USD of bribes and incentives were spent during 1991
and 2005 for intermediaries, including Thai government officials and Thai
Airways employees, to help the company win jet engine deals.
Thai Airways announced
its own investigation into the case on January 19.
The bribery allegedly occurred during a
period of rapid growth in Thailand. -VNA