Allegations of corruption during the development of Suvarnabhumi Airport, the newest international airport serving Bangkok, Thailand, have been made since the project's inception. These allegations started in the 1970s, when land for the airport was purchased during the dictatorship of Thanom Kittikachorn, and extended to the government of Thaksin Shinawatra, during which most of the construction occurred.
The Nation, a Thai English-language daily, published several reports alleging corruption in the purchase of x-ray baggage scanning devices for the airport. The resulting scandal delayed the opening of the airport by a year and allowed the opposition Democrat Party to initiate a 20-hour no-confidence censure debate that forced Thaksin to remove close supporter Suriya Jungrungreangkit from his position of Transport Minister. The Royal Thai Army swept into power in a military coup in 2006, using the allegedly shoddy construction of the airport as one of the justifications for its coup.International Herald Tribune, Thailand's airport imbroglio grows, 2 February 2007 The junta initiated several investigations into the airport. The investigative panels found that damage to the airport was "minute" and "common." The cost of fixing the damage was estimated at less than 1% of the total airport cost. The junta was accused of delaying airport repairs and intensifying the airport's problems in order to pin further blame on the deposed government.
In 2008, The Nation admitted that its reports of corruption were incorrect, and retracted their stories.The Nation, Nation Wrong About Thaksin Corruption , 6 November 2008
The Council for National Security (CNS) in Thailand established the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) in 2006 to investigate actions that caused damage to the state from operations or projects by individuals in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The AEC initially took on eight cases for examination, but later added an additional five cases, for a total of 13 cases that were investigated. One of these cases involved the procurement of CTX explosive detection machines for Suvarnabhumi Airport, and the AEC decided to take legal action against 25 individuals, including Thaksin Shinawatra and other politicians, state officials, and business people, for their involvement in a rigged auction involving the organizers and participants of the auction. The AEC also accused these individuals of abuse of position, corruption, and neglecting their duties or acting dishonestly, causing harm. After completing the investigation, the AEC submitted the indictment to the Attorney General's Office in 2011, but the case was referred to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) due to objections from the Attorney General's Office about the incompleteness of the case. The joint committee between the Attorney General and NACC has been unable to reach a decision on the case for several years.
Overview Charges of corruption were levelled against Thai governments since the airport project's inception in the 1970s. "All the recent previous governments before Thaksin took part in taking something from the project," noted Chaiwat Sinsuwong, a member of the Council of Engineers.The Nation, Engineers beat their breasts over airport debacle , 11 February 2007
Mr Weera Somkuamkit, of the People's Network on Corruption has noted that "Someone got a big payoff just by laying down the sand. There's corruption in every airport project such as the car park, bidding on duty-free shops, cooling system for the buildings and power generating system."Channel NewsAsia, Corruption scandals delay Thailand's massive Suvarnabhumi Airport", 23 August 2005 Weera Somkuamkit has not yet made public any evidence supporting his claims. Based on this and other allegations, the opposition parties during the Thaksin government initiated a vote of no confidence against the Thaksin-government's transport minister. The censure motion was not successful.
After the coup, the Council for National Security (CNS) called on relevant officials to discuss the issue of corruption, including Kranarong Jantik, former secretary-general of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), and Jaruvan Maintaka, Auditor General of the State Audit Office of the Kingdom of Thailand (SAO), to prepare for the establishment of an organization to check for corruption in the government of Thaksin Shinawatra. On September 30, 2006, the Council for National Security announced the appointment of the Assets Examination Committee (AEC) to investigate actions that cause damage to the state from operations or projects by individuals in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.Thai publica, ย้อนรอยมหากาพย์ 7 ปี CTX (2): คตส. เริ่มต้นและจบด้วยการหักหลัง
The process of the AEC begins with the submission of already-investigated and data-gathered cases by the State Audit Office of the Kingdom of Thailand. Initially, the AEC takes on a total of 8 cases for examination, with an additional 5 cases added later, for a total of 13 cases that the AEC investigates. One of them has a CTX explosive detection machine procurement project for Suvarnabhumi Airport included, and the Assets Examination Committee has decided to take legal action against the political figures, including Thaksin Shinawatra, as the Chairman of the Suvarnabhumi Airport Development Committee (ADC), and other politicians, including Suriya Juangroongruangkit, ex-Minister of Transport, as well as state officials and employees, board members and executives of the New Bangkok International Airport Company Limited (NBIA) and Thai Airports Company Limited (TAC), such as Sisuk Jantharangsi, the Minister of Transport, Chaikasem Nitisiri, the attorney general, ITO Trading Group as a legal entity and business people, a total of 25 people.Thai publica, ย้อนรอยมหากาพย์ 7 ปี CTX (2): คตส. เริ่มต้นและจบด้วยการหักหลัง
The AEC has issued a resolution to pursue a case against these individuals in relation to a rigged auction involving the organizers and participants of the auction, resulting in unfair competition (violation of the State Enterprise Act B.E. 2542, sections 5, 11, 12, 13).Thai publica, ย้อนรอยมหากาพย์ 7 ปี CTX (2): คตส. เริ่มต้นและจบด้วยการหักหลัง
The case also involves abuse of position and corruption by the perpetrators and accomplices in several counts (Criminal Code, sections 83, 86, 90, 91, 144, 149, 152, 157, 341).Thai publica, ย้อนรอยมหากาพย์ 7 ปี CTX (2): คตส. เริ่มต้นและจบด้วยการหักหลัง
Additionally, as government employees, these people are also accused of neglecting their duties or acted dishonestly, causing harm (Public Sector Employee Discipline Act of 1959, sections 3, 9, 11). The commission has also requested that the accused return or compensate for damages in the amount of 6.937 million baht.Thai publica, ย้อนรอยมหากาพย์ 7 ปี CTX (2): คตส. เริ่มต้นและจบด้วยการหักหลัง
This investigation differs from the previous investigation led by the Inspection Committee, headed by Thaksin Shinawatra, which concluded that "no irregularities were found".Thai publica, ย้อนรอยมหากาพย์ 7 ปี CTX (2): คตส. เริ่มต้นและจบด้วยการหักหลัง
After the investigation was completed, the AEC made the decision to pursue legal action and submitted the indictment to the Attorney General's Office on May 28, 2011, one month before the AEC term ended. However, at the time, the Attorney General, Chaiyakasem Nitisiri, himself was facing his own charges in the CTX case and the AEC was forced to separate Chaiyakasem's case and file the lawsuit themselves.ย้อนรอยมหากาพย์ 7 ปี CTX: ตอนจบแบบหักมุมของ ป.ป.ช.
On June 27, 2011, just three days before the AEC's term ended, they had already made the decision to pursue legal action against the perpetrators and submitted the indictment to the Attorney General's Office. However, the Attorney General's Office raised objections to the incompleteness of the case and requested that the AEC form a committee to review the incomplete aspects of the case. The AEC was unable to comply with this request as their term was ending in just a few days. Because of this, the investigation had been referred to National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for further action by default. Mr. Kranarong Jantik, being a member of NACC as well, had recused himself from this investigation because he was a former member of AEC, which is considered to have a stake in the matter.ย้อนรอยมหากาพย์ 7 ปี CTX: ตอนจบแบบหักมุมของ ป.ป.ช.
The joint committee between the Attorney General and NACC has been deadlocked and unable to reach a decision on this case for more than three years. Finally, in September 2011, the Attorney General ruled to dismiss the case, citing insufficient evidence as the reason. In response, the NACC prepared to file a lawsuit on its own and appointed a prosecutor from the Lawyers Council Under the Royal Patronage to handle the case.ย้อนรอยมหากาพย์ 7 ปี CTX: ตอนจบแบบหักมุมของ ป.ป.ช.
In preparing to file a lawsuit on its own, the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has had to summarize the new allegations and gather additional evidence. In this effort, the NACC has sought cooperation from the US Department of Justice to provide additional documentation from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), totaling more than 5,000 pages. A key piece of evidence is a confirmation from the US Department of Justice, sent in early August 2012, stating that no evidence was found of payment or receipt of any benefits from the sale of CTX explosives detection equipment. Finally, on August 28, 2012, Wichai Wiwitsevi, a member of the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC), announced officially that the NCCC had resolved to refer the case involving the procurement and installation of CTX explosives detection equipment and the construction of baggage handling systems at Suvarnabhumi Airport to the Office of the Attorney General for prosecution.ย้อนรอยมหากาพย์ 7 ปี CTX: ตอนจบแบบหักมุมของ ป.ป.ช.
Car park The airport contains 2 5-storey car park buildings with a combined capacity of 5,000 cars.
Two videos were released in which car park contractor Latthapol Kesakotin, in one video, claimed that he paid US$250 million to Yaowaret Shinawatra (the Prime Minister's sister) to gain a contract to build and operate the airport car park, and another video in which he claimed he didn't pay anything to Yaowaret. He later publicly denied that he paid anything to Yaowaret.
Bomb detectors Twenty-six CTX 9000 DSi explosive detection x-ray baggage scanning devices were purchased from GE Invision with a total contract value of US$65 million.AirportTechnology.com, Suvarnabhumi Airport In response to concerns from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) that the 26 devices would not be sufficient, the equipment specifications were revised and another 20 devices were acquired. The new specifications also required modification of several other elements of the airport. The CTX 9000 model was selected by the airport primary contractor's design consultant, Cage Inc.The Nation, "Suvarnabhumi: Contractor warns over airport delay ", 7 May 2005 The choice was also endorsed by New Bangkok International Airport's independent adviser, Quatrotec Inc.