US Justice Department has charged a Los Angeles couple with bribing a Thai official

The US Justice Department has charged a Los Angeles businessman and his wife with paying a bribe of $1.7 million to the former governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand for the rights to manage the Bangkok International Film Festival.
Gerald Green, 75, and his wife Patricia, 52, were arrested after a criminal complaint was filed in Los Angeles on December 7.
The charges allege that the couple conspired to pay more than $1.7 million dollars in bribes -- about 60 million baht at the time.
They claim the money was paid to a woman identified as the governor of the TAT in order to win the film festival contract and other deals worth more than $10 million.
The complaint did not directly name Thai official allegedly involved but said "she" was president of the Bangkok International Film Festival and governor of the TAT.
The only person apparently meeting that description is Juthamas Siriwan. She is currently contesting the December 23 parliamentary election with the Puea Pandin party.
Ms Juthamas denied any involvement in the scandal.
She said she would sue the US Justice Department if it attempted to tie her to the case. Her statement was difficult to reconcile since the US authorities have already directly tied her to the case.
Ms Juthamas said the bid to organise the Bangkok International Film Festival in 2003 had been implemented according to rules and regulations.
"All the procedures involving the case had been done according to the regulations and with fairness and transparence to all agencies concerned," she told a press conference Wednesday. She did not address the alleged payments by the Greens.
A press release by the US Justice Department released early Wednesday (Thailand time) said the indictment:
"... alleges that from 2003 and continuing into 2007, the Greens conspired with others to bribe a senior Thai government official who was, at the time, the President of the BKKIFF and the Governor of the TAT. As a result of her position at the TAT, the Governor was able to influence the awarding of the BKKIFF contracts as well as other TAT contracts. More than $1.7 million in payments were allegedly made for the benefit of the Governor."
Click here to view the US Department of Justice press release in PDF format.
Click here for the FBI's full affadavit of charges, also in PDF format.
The statement by the Justice Department said the Greens set up a company - Film Festival Management - in 2003 to bid for the rights to stage the Bangkok International Film Festival.
Between 2003 and 2007, the Greens allegedly funneled cash to the Thai tourism official, who used the money to influence the awarding of the contracts for the film festival, which is run by the TAT.
The recipient of the alleged bribes was not identified in the Justice Department statement.
The Greens face up to 10 years in prison if convicted on all charges, the statement said.
The Bangkok International Film Festival has been held annually since 2002. (BangkokPost.com, from Agency reports)

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