US court goes after Juthamas
January 21, 2010 by Chanida Sa-ngiamphaisalsuk
Filed under News
The US government will seek to extradite ex-Tourism Authority of Thailand governor, Juthamas Siriwan, and her daughter, Jittisopa Siriwan, to face charges unsealed in a Los Angeles court, yesterday.
Mother and daughter are charged with conspiracy and eight other counts according to a report filed by the Los Angeles bureau of the international wire service, Associated Press.
Juthamas Siriwan
Radio Thailand reported, earlier today, that the US would seek to extradite the couple, but the process had yet to be initated and could take as long as a year to conclude. The news broadcast also confirmed that the US court had accused the ex TAT governor and daughter of receiving bribes of Bt60 million.
If convicted they each face up to 20 years in prison, but it is not clear how Ms Juthamas and Ms Jittisopa intend to plea or whether they will defend themselves in the US court or appoint a US lawyer.
Both are currently resident in Thailand. Late last year, Ms Juthamas attended a wedding ceremony in Bangkok, for a TAT employee, who was her former secretary. However, since then both mother and daughter have maintained a low profile in Bangkok’s “Hi So” circles.
Officials working for Thailand’s National Anti-Corruption Commission are still investigating the US allegations, but have not reached a conclusion on whether to press charges in a Thai court of law. An official said evidence collected focused on allegations of “malfeasance and bid rigging.”
The wire service AP quotes Federal prosecutors who alleged that Ms Juthamas accepted about US$1.8 million in bribes from film producers, Gerald and Patricia Green, between 2002 and 2007 so the couple could run the Bangkok Film Festival and land other tourism-related deals. The scheme netted the couple, who inflated their budgets so Ms Juthamas could be paid off, about US$13.5 million.
The payments, some of which were allegedly made in cash to Ms Juthamas directly, were often disguised as sales commissions between 10 to 20%. Prosecutors added that Ms Juthamas and Ms Jittisopa opened bank accounts in Singapore and the UK to receive the corrupt payments.
The Greens were convicted, 14 September, 2009 of conspiracy and money laundering according to Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a federal statute prohibiting corrupt payments to foreign officials for business purposes. According to AP, they are scheduled to be sentenced today. Prosecutors said in court documents that Mr Gerald could face more than 30 years in prison, while his wife could receive a sentence of between 19 and 24 years.
Will the two ladies concerned ever appear in a U.S.Court of Justice??
Will the two ladies concerned ever be sent to the U.S.from Thailand??
Will the TNACC ever follow through on the entirety of this case or will
they just drop it like a hot potato??
There was always something about Juthamas that made one wonder how she dressed like a khunying on a paltry TAT salary. Her jewels spoke louder than words. That she is charged alone with her daughter is strange indeed, because there is no way with the TAT bureaucracy as it always has been that she could have acted alone, without help from her immediate second-tier management. The authorities should look at her closest colleagues and wonder how they, too, were able to dress like khunyings on their TATt stipends. Some are still quite prominent in tourism circles, even without salaries. Makes one think, doesn’t?
1. Gotcha. Bang to rights. About time too.
2. Bet she never even feels a thing. Do time? perleeeasse.