NACC chief takes swipe at kickbacks

Legal entities must be aware they are liable to penalties in cases of bribery, National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) chairman Watcharapol Prasarnrajkit said yesterday.

He said that to combat corruption, the government has made sure punitive measures against private agencies embroiled in bribery contained in the previous organic law on the NACC, have been carried over in the new one.

Meanwhile, bribery is not only regarded as an internal issue but an international as it can undermine the confidence of foreign investors.

Pol Gen Watcharapol said the agency has intensified efforts to highlight antibribery measures among private firms, including investors in the government’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) development plan, which covers the three eastern provinces of Rayong, Chachoengsao and Chon Buri.

Among the key tools to fight bribery were the 2004 United Nations Convention against Corruption and the Anti-Bribery Convention issued by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, he said. Under them, the government encourages juristic persons to roll out internal preventive measures against paying kickbacks to state authorities for business opportunities.

Pol Gen Watcharapol was speaking during a seminar on bribery at Movenpick Siam Hotel Na Jomtien Pattaya in Chon Buri. He said the commission was ready to push legal measures which would help address graft in governmental agencies.

The NACC chairman, however, admitted it’s taking time to have both public and private agencies operate in a transparent manner.