Published on May 08, 2005

US-based General Electric said yesterday an internal investigation conducted by InVision had not uncovered any improper payments to Thai government officials over the controversial bomb-detection machines deal.

In response to e-mailed questions from The Nation, Jeff DeMarrais, director of GE’s Global Communications, said a violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act did not “require showing that a foreign government official in fact received a payment or accepted an offer of an improper payment”.

However, in charges filed against InVision Technologies in a California district court last year, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) said InVision was aware that its distributor in Thailand “had offered to make gifts or payments to officials with influence” over Airports of Thailand Plc, the company that will run Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The alleged practices were uncovered during due diligence conducted in 2004 by GE in the process of acquiring the California-based company, which specialises in explosives-detection equipment. The company was renamed GE InVision after the acquisition in December following a delay caused by the scandal.

In February this year GE InVision agreed to pay US$1 million in fines to the SEC in connection with the charges after having reached a settlement two months earlier with the US Justice Department to pay $800,000 to avoid prosecution under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

“Although those agreements reflect the US government’s conclusion that InVision violated the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a violation of that act does not require showing that a foreign government official in fact received a payment or accepted an offer of an improper payment,” DeMarrais said.

The spokesman said InVision’s own internal investigation also “did not find that any official of the Royal Thai government had in fact received any improper payment or accepted any offer of an improper payment”.

But he said InVision’s finding was not a prerequisite to US authorities nonetheless concluding that InVision had violated US law.

The spokesman did not directly comment on Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s threat to scrap the bomb-detector deal and to blacklist GE unless it came up with a clarification that no Thai official had received kickbacks.

“We will work directly with the prime minister and the appropriate government authorities on that matter,” he said.

Meanwhile a ranking Democrat MP yesterday criticised Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for dragging his feet in finding the culprits behind the alleged bribery related to the purchase of the 26 CTX machines.

Suwaroj Palang, chairman of the House committee on justice and human rights, said Thaksin had been quick to blame the supplier, GE InVision, for paying bribes but had made no progress in unmasking those who had taken them.

“The prime minister appears to be trying to stall the investigation by demanding others supply him with names and evidence when he should be spearheading the fight against corruption,” Suwaroj said.

He urged the government to involve the Anti-Money Laundering Office to trace the financial records of key players in the deal.

For a start, checks should focus on Worapoj Yasadatt, director of Patriot Business Consultants Co, who brokered the deal for the US-based supplier, he said.

“It should be interesting to find out where the money routed from Worapoj’s account ended up,” he said.

Echoing Suwaroj, activist Suriyasai Katasila said money-laundering authorities should coordinate with their US counterparts in tracing the bribes.

Suriyasai suggested that authorities might also want to look into how Worapoj had spent Bt600 million which the airport contractor ITO, a joint venture, had transferred to him as a down payment for the explosives-detection machines.

“The machines have yet to be delivered, and the money has yet to be paid to the supplier; yet the down payment has been spread around in a suspicious manner,” he said.

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