"The Office of the Auditor-General (OAG) is investigating a murky trade-fair deal in which Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee is suspected of having abused a Cabinet resolution on state procurement.
An OAG official familiar with the investigation told The Nation that Surapong received Cabinet approval on June 24 to organise the "Thailand's Confidence" trade fair with a state budget of Bt37 million. Surapong then asked the Cabinet to allow the Finance Ministry to hire a private company to organise the event without having to hold a competitive bidding as was usually required by government procurement regulations.
The minister claimed the matter was urgent, saying that otherwise it might not be possible to hold the trade fair at Impact Muang Thong Thani from July 17-20 as scheduled.
The event was aimed at selling necessities and natural-gas-for-vehicles (NGV) tanks for autos to the general public at below market prices. The event cost the Finance Ministry Bt65 million, compared with the state budget of Bt37 million. The rest of the money came from state enterprises participating in the event via the collection of fees by the Comptroller-General's Office.
Such a practice is unusual, said the OAG official, who requested anonymity."
http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2008/08/19...ss_30080902.php
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Corruption suspected in trade fair scheduling
Started by Sexpat, Aug 19 2008 11:13 AM
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