Japanese firm 'paid bribes'

A former executive of Nishimatsu Construction has told Japanese prosecutors that the Japanese firm had paid ¥400 million (Bt125 million) to Thai government officials in return for "favours" connected to the award of a Bt2-billion tunnel project in 2003, said sources familiar with the matter.

Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin yesterday said city clerk Pongsak Semsan would ask the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok to forward a document related to the allegation to the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA).

It was reported that the former executive of Nishimatsu Construction was being investigated by the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office on suspicion of violating the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act for bringing in ¥100 million from abroad without reporting it to customs.

The consortium of Italian-Thai and Nishimatsu won the Bt2-billion contract from BMA in 2003, when Samak Sundaravej, who is now prime minister, was the governor of Bangkok.

The project included construction of large tunnels along the San Saeb and Lat Phrao canals as part of a BMA flood-management system for the city

Besides the consortium of Italian-Thai and Nishimatsu, the BMA project attracted other bidders, namely Naowarat Pattanakarn, Si Saeng Construction and Ch Karnchang.

Citing sources, Kyodo News reported that local staff of Nishimatsu in Thailand had prepared bribes after consulting executives of Nishimatsu's Thai partner.

The payments were apparently made to Thai government officials and officials in charge of overseeing bids for the project immediately before and after the project was awarded.

The former Nishimatsu executive said he was not directly involved in bribing the officials but that "in return for favours to secure the tunnel-construction project, the company paid a total of more than ¥400 million to Thai government officials", the sources said.

"Such operational funds were necessary in order to be awarded public-works projects in Thailand," he was quoted as saying.

The prosecutors searched Nishimatsu's head office in Tokyo's Minato Ward early last month in connection with the former executive's suspected violation of the foreign-exchange law.

The prosecutor suspected the ¥100 million he brought into Japan was part of a slush fund.

The prosecutors are also conducting investigations into Pacific Consultants Inter-national, a major Japanese construction consultancy, in connection with a case of suspected bribery in Vietnam related to a project funded by official development assistance from the Japanese government.