Commerce official accused of graft

An entertainment industry source said they had encountered problems with an "influential ministry official" asking for money to facilitate their requests.

"The influential official wanted to collect 10 per cent of the value of machinery the companies must import for producing entertainment products," said the source, who asked not to be named.

The combined value of the machinery is Bt50 million.

Usually, any company wanting to import machinery must inform the ministry's Intellectual Property Department but pay nothing for the request.

So far, four entertainment companies have asked for ministry permission to import machinery into the Kingdom. Two of them have already been granted permission but say they face a huge payment burden to the official.

Two companies are waiting for ministry approval.

EVS Entertainment sent a letter to the ministry last Thursday asking about the progress of its request, because it has now been waiting six months to hear a decision.