The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) says it is following up on bribery cases involving Thai officials exposed during a recent legal proceeding in the United States.
The US-based agricultural and construction equipment firm Deere agreed this week to pay $10 million to settle charges brought by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after its Thai subsidiary, Wirtgen Thailand, was found to have bribed people at state agencies to win procurement contracts.
The agencies in question were the Royal Thai Air Force, the Department of Highways and the Department of Rural Roads. The multiple instances of bribery, in which an unidentified Thai construction company was also involved, took place between 2017 and 2020, the SEC said in a case summary.
“This is an important, international bribery case that is of public interest,” said Nitiphan Prachuabmoh, the deputy secretary-general of the NACC.
“The NACC is currently collecting information and coordinating with the SEC on the matter,” he said, adding that the agency would make sure that both the company and officials that took the bribe will be prosecuted.
ACM Panpakdee Pattanakul, the air force chief, said on Thursday that it was aware of the reports, adding that he was told the bribes were paid out between 2019 and 2020.
“The case happened in the past. I believe the air force does everything in a transparent manner, and everything can be verified,” he said.
When asked to explain what the air force bought from Deere’s Thai subsidiary, ACM Panpakdee said it was construction equipment.
“We didn’t buy tractors, we bought asphalt spreaders to pave airport runways,” he said.
Sarawut Songsivilai, the director-general of the Department of Highways, said he wasn’t aware of the claims until Wednesday, but promised to launch an urgent investigation.
The settlement announced on Tuesday in Washington resolves charges that high-level managers and employees at Wirtgen Thailand, wholly owned by Deere, made improper payments to officials to secure government business.
The bribes came in the form of massage parlour services, lavish overseas trips and other improper gifts, the SEC said. No details were available about the positions of the bribe recipients.
The SEC said payments were made even though the subsidiary’s code of conduct prohibited giving “absolutely anything” to improperly influence government officials. Such actions are punishable under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in the United States.
The SEC said the settlement agreement reflected Illinois-based Deere’s cooperation with the regulator, the termination of employees involved in misconduct, and upgrades to compliance procedures and anti-bribery training.
“These allegations represent a clear violation of our company policies and ethical standards,” Deere said.