Ex-TAT chief to be indicted over bribes from Hollywood execs
FORMER TOURISM Authority of Thailand governor Juthamas Siriwan will be indicted for allegedly accepting Bt60 million in bribes in 2010 in exchange for giving two US film executives movie festival contracts, an anti-graft official said yesterday.
The joint panel of the National Anti-Corruption Commission and the Office of the Auditor-General resolved on July 27 to indict Juthamas for graft, NACC secretary-general Sansern Polajiak said yesterday.
Juthamas will be given 15 days to report herself to the Attorney-General or she an arrest warrant, he said.
Sansern said prosecutors would file the indictment at the Criminal Court. She had the right to seek court approval for a temporarily release on bail, he said.
A source said Juthamas was still in the country.
US prosecutors charged Juthamas in 2009 with violations of the Money Laundering Control Act, alleging that she used the US financial system to promote or conceal violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and Thai law.
A jury convicted Hollywood film executives Gerald and Patricia Green of FCPA violations in 2010 for paying Juthamas US$1.8 million in bribes.
The US court case against Juthamas has been pending nearly six years due to extradition issues.
