Commerce insists no irregularity in Bt80,000 cheque
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The Commerce Ministry insisted that there is no irregularity in the Bt80,000 cheque, in response to a National Anti-corruption Commission notice about a payment of an unusually small amount for a government-to-government rice deal.
It said in a statement issued today that the cheque carrying Bt80,000 was issued for the final cargo of 50 sacks of rice as part of a deal agreed on a large-scale purchase involving 20,000 sacks.
The statement was released at the press conference today at the ministry.
On a pay-before-transport condition under the statement said was a standard procedure, this unidentified buyer paid for the last shipment of around 50 100-kg sacks worth around Bt80,000 with this cashier's cheque, said the statement. Most of the entire shipment had earlier been transported out of a warehouse, also under the pay-before-transport condition, and this shipment of the final 50 sacks was the last out, thus resulting in a cheque issued for its price of Bt80,000, added the statement.
This shipment had been sold as a wholesale involving an entire stack consisting 2,000 tonnes or rice, or around 20,000 sacks, under a separate condition. The Commerce Ministry's statement said the pay-before-transport condition had been adopted for any purchases made either through government-to-government or individual deals, between private businesses and independent buyers, and the Commerce Ministry, but did not specify whether this deal in question was a G2G deal or other types of contracts.
