Yingluck in the clear over funding scandal
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has decided not to appeal the Supreme Court’s ruling which cleared former premier Yingluck Shinawatra and five others of malfeasance and collusion in awarding a 240-million-baht fund to promote her government’s 2-trillion-baht infrastructure projects back in 2013, said a source close to the matter.
The NACC voted unanimously against appealing the case after the court found there was no intent on the defendant’s part to issue the promotional fund to favour a specific party that would constitute a conflict of interest.
The NACC accused Ms Yingluck, former PM’s Office minister Niwatthamrong Boonsongpaisan, Ms Yingluck’s then-secretary-general Suranand Vejjajiva, Matichon Plc, Siam Sport Syndicate Plc, and Siam Sport director Ravi Lohtong.
According to the lawsuit, from late August 2013 to March 2014, Yingluck, Mr Niwatthamrong and Mr Suranand abused their authority by omitting to call public tenders for the work to favour the companies who won the contracts, named as Matichon Plc and Siam Sport Syndicate Plc.
Without a bidding contest, Yingluck, Mr Niwatthamrong and Mr Suranand contracted Matichon Plc to implement the government campaign in 12 provinces to promote infrastructure projects that Yingluck’s government planned to borrow 2 trillion baht to fund.
When the Constitutional Court later ruled that a proposed legislation to allow the government to borrow the sum was unconstitutional, the roadshow was cancelled. The 240 million baht spent on the campaign was wasteful, according to the NACC.
The source said the NACC’s decision not to proceed with an appeal was based on the Supreme Court’s reason given for acquitting Yingluck and five other defendants.
The Supreme Court has said government organisations and the cabinet at the time had approved the Yingluck government’s transport infrastructure projects, and the Budget Bureau agreed that she, as the then-prime minister, could allocate a contingency fund for the PR project.
As such, no damage has been caused to the state over the disbursement of the PR fund and the fund having been awarded to Matichon Plc and Siam Sport Syndicate Plc.
For this reason, the NACC has no legal basis on which to push forward with an appeal.
Meanwhile, Thepthai Senapong, a former Democrat Party MP for Nakhon Si Thammarat, posted on his Facebook account that the NACC’s latest decision not to pursue the case means one more obstacle has been removed from the path to former premier Thaksin Shinawatra regaining full political control of the government.
Yingluck is Thaksin’s younger sister. She is believed to have ridden to power as prime minister in 2011 on Thaksin’s popularity.
They both fled the country at different times to avoid sentences handed down by the Supreme Court—Thaksin for helping his then-wife, Khunying Potjaman Na Pombejra, obtain prime land in Bangkok at a discount while he was prime minister and Yingluck for dereliction of duty as premier over the rice-pledging programme that ran up at least 500 billion baht in losses, some of it from corruption.
Now that Thaksin is back in the country and has been granted parole, it is speculated that Yingluck could follow suit.
They would both work to cement the ruling Pheu Thai Party’s hold on power, according to Mr Thepthai.