Impeach former officials over rice deals, says NACC
Play
Anti-graft agency says the evidence against the trio is overwhelming
THE ANTI-GRAFT agency yesterday urged the National Legislative Assembly to impeach three former government officials under the Pheu Thai administration, saying that they could not prove the Chinese state enterprises involved in a supposed government-to-government rice contract represented the central Chinese government.
National Anti-Corruption Commission member Vicha Mahakhun told NLA members that only state enterprises officially recognised as a delegation representing the Chinese government could engage in a G2G programme with the Thai government.
The three accused former officials are former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom, former deputy commerce minister Poom Sarapol and the ex-director of the Commerce Ministry’s Foreign Trade Department, Manus Soiploy.
The two former ministers yesterday attended the NLA meeting to deliver their closing speeches. Manus did not show up but produced his closing speech in writing.
The NLA is set to vote on whether to impeach the accused today.
Vicha alleged that the Chinese state enterprises in question – Guangdong Stationery & Sporting Goods Import & Export Corp and the Hainan Grain and Oil Industrial Trading – had not received official authorisation from the Chinese central government to engage in a G2G deal with the Thai government.
He alleged that the claim there was a G2G deal was a deception created by the three accused ex-officials.
Vicha alleged that bogus G2G deals were part of a plan that enabled a network of companies “network of alliance business firms” to make a huge amount of money while doing severe damage to the country’s economy and the state budget.
He said one warehouse rice transaction involving China showed no G2G programme with that country but instead stated that the rice was sold at a “friendly price” to a Thai distributor.
He alleged that the distributor consisted of an alliance of firms belonging to members of the Pheu Thai Party and the transaction resulted in a huge profit.
The bogus G2G programme was approved, administrated and regulated by the accused ex-officials, he alleged, and as such they should take full responsibility for it and be impeached and barred from holding public office for five years.
But Boonsong insisted that it was a real programme because both Chinese companies were state enterprise and as such had officially represented the Chinese government.
He said there had been no public deception and he accused the NACC of refusing to interrogate the two Chinese state enterprises, which indicated prejudice against him and his political faction.
“Everyone wants to see justice but the NACC is deliberately trying to picture us as corrupt,” he said. “This has created a lot of embarrassment for me and my family.
“Such an accusation indicates bias, prejudice and resentment towards myself.
“Again, I would like to deny all the accusations and wrongdoings.”
Poom said he still believed that engaging the two Chinese state enterprises was the best course of action for this country at the time as high stockpiles of rice were rotting.
He said the process was normal practice and had been conducted for a very long time by the same civil servants who had expertly carried out the task for many governments.
