NACC wants additional graft charges
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THE National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has set an April deadline for the filing of additional legal complaints with prosecutors against more than 100 companies, alleging corruption related to the rice-pledging scheme.
The move came after the Supreme Court’s Criminal Division for Political Office Holders on Thursday ordered former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra to stand trial on May 19 on charges of negligence for allegedly failing to stop corruption and mismanagement of her elected government’s costly rice-subsidy programme.
Meanwhile, an NACC member suggested that Yingluck should appear in court in person to listen to the indictment against her.
NACC member Vicha Makakhun said yesterday they had ordered officers to accelerate the probe into some companies related to a corruption case tied to a government-to-government rice deal. He said these additional cases would be combined with that against former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom and others – on charges of committing and supporting malfeasance in violation of the Criminal Code and competitive-bidding and anti-corruption laws. Boonsong and 20 others will face life sentences and total fines of Bt35 billion if convicted of corruption charges, according to the Supreme Court. The G2G rice deals concern the release of about Bt5 billion tonnes of rice from September 8, 2011, to February 22, 2013.
