Fallout Over InVision FCPA Violations Reverberates in Thailand
The fallout over InVision's recent settlement of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act violations in the U.S. in connection with a sale of bomb detection equipment to Bangkok's new airport has created an uproar in Thailand. The Nation, one of Thailand's leading newspapers, reports today that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has tried to distance his government from the procurement scandal by announcing that a secret investigation he ordered late last year found that no officials in his administration had accepted bribes in relation to the deal. The paper also reports that Patriot Business Consultants, the Bangkok company at the heart of the airport scandal, has received a "large sum" of money for the supply of the explosives detectors, despite delays in their shipment. The Bangkok Post, also has weighed in on this issue and has called on the Prime Minister to launch an independent inquiry into bribery allegations, rather than allow the Ministry of Transportation to conduct its own investigation.