“Did she or did she not?” That is the big question surrounding the case of the former Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, TAT. Thought to have accepted bribes relating to the Bangkok Film Festival, former TAT Governor Juthamas Siriwan and her daughter Jittisopa Siriwan have now been indicted in the USA.
According to US and Thai newspapers, American prosecutors confirmed the indictment of Juthamas and Jittisopa on grounds of having accepted bribes. These bribes granted significant advantages to an American couple of film producers during the Bangkok Film Festivals between 2002 and 2007. The two Americans have since been deemed guilty of bribery by a jury. The sentence, to be announced next week, may be up to 30 years in prison.
Over the course of the five years in question, Juthama and Jittisopa Siriwan are alleged to have collected about €1.5 million. Payments by the American perpetrators Gerald and Patricia Green were transferred to accounts with banks in Great Britain and Singapore that were held by Jathumas and her daughter. Added to this are several million that were handed to the two women in cash by the Americans in the USA and in Thailand.
American and Thai investigators speak of a total of about €9 million, related not only to film projects and festivals, but to tourism related projects, as well.
Members of Thailand’s high society, the two women were well known for their work at the Tourism Authority both in their home country and in Europe, Asia and America. Mrs Juthamas Siriwan acted as Governor of TAT until 2008.
Tharit Pengdit, Director Department of Special Investigation (DSI), disclosed in response to an inquiry by the Tourism-Insider that the Thai police have finalized their investigation and transferred the case to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC). A decision on how to further pursue the proceedings is to be reached soon. The American Federal Public Prosecutors in Los Angeles, California have now also indicted mother and daughter, say generally well informed circles in Thailand, and an extradition of the perpetrators to the USA is not ruled out. Should they be convicted there, they may face up to 20 years in prison.
During her tenure as Governor of TAT, Mrs Juthamas headed the national offices as well as all international tourist offices. Along with her responsibilites came the supervision and de facto control of millions of US dollars in budget meant to promote tourism in Thailand.
Repeated attempts by Tourism-Insider to get a statement from Mrs Juthamas were left unanswered. Her present whereabouts are not currently known, say Thai circles.
