Business Daily Media

Men's Weekly

.

The Anti-Bribery Advisory Service (ABAS) Center set up to provide guidelines to the private sector about giving bribes to government officials

BANGKOK THAILAND - Media OutReach - 31 March 2023 - Thailand has set up an anti-bribery service centre to provide knowledge and guidelines to the private sector concerning the laws on offering bribes to government officials.



The establishment of Anti-Bribery Advisory Service (ABAS) Center, which falls under the supervision of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), is part of Thailand's attempts to level up its Corruption Perception Index (CPI), Niwatchai Kasemmongkol, NACC's secretary general said in a recent exclusive interview.

Thailand ranks 101 of 180 countries and scored 42 out of 100 on the CPI in 2022.

The ABAS Center was established to provide academic advice, knowledge, and guidelines to the private sector about offering bribes to government officials. Using the guidelines, the private sector could put appropriate and effective anti-bribery measures in place, he said.

Thailand has ratified and become a member of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), and OECD's Convention on Combating Foreign Bribery in International Business Transactions.

NACC also has rules for prosecuting private sector firms involved in bribing government officials and those working in international agencies. The rules have been issued to make private sector firms aware that they could be prosecuted if they are involved in corruption.

Our rules and regulations as well as ABAS are set up in line with and as required by the UNCAC and OECD, he said.

Thailand will soon hold a general election and have a new government in the near future and Niwatchai said he hoped they would be serious about suppression corruption.

If the new government and policy makers are serious, the country's CPI will certainly go up. He cited as an example Vietnam, whose CPI was 77 in 2022, saying its CPI is higher than that of Thailand's as its leaders are serious about prosecuting those involved in corruption.

He added educational institutes should play an important role in instilling and teaching people about honesty.

The situation concerning corrupt practices by those in the political circle, government agencies, and the private sector are still worrisome, he adds.

With corruption rampant in the country, the NACC needs the participation of the public and government officials who witness corruption. We would not know about corruption if they do not inform us by filing complaints with us, he said.

In the past, junior government officials who acted as whistleblowers on malfeasance in their units might not feel safe and could be persecuted by their superiors.

Today we have an organic law on prevention and suppression on misconduct. The Act, B.E 2561 (2018), stipulates several measures to protect such whistleblowers.

In a case where a junior official is involved in the corruption but decides to report the wrongdoings, he or she would not face either criminal or disciplinary charges and would be treated as a witness. A whistleblower can also be rewarded, Niwatchai said.

If necessary, NACC's protection programme is ready to give protection to the official and his/her family. Such protection would include allowances, name change, and relocation.

The protection measures are aimed to create confidence and bravery in a whistleblower who reports graft. However, he/she could be prosecuted if he/she fails to meet the conditions or changes his/her testimony.

Niwatchai cited the manipulation of the district chief examinations in 2009 as an example of the NACC's investigation and provision of protection for whistleblowers.

In 2009, the investigation and collection of evidence showed that violations were happening in the selection process. At first, no official dared to testify against any senior government official but eventually ten examinees agreed to do so.

Their testimonies led to the jailing of the then director general of the Provincial Administration Department and senior officials.

However the bureaucratic system had frozen the careers of the ten examinees, their levels were not raised, their salaries were put on hold and they were not allowed to take the district chief exam again.

NACC then reported this to the prime minister which resulted in the Office of Civil Service Commission resolving to promote them to the position of district chief, Niwatchai said.

Responding to a statement that only small fish are arrested in corruption cases, Niwatchai pointed out that small fish are easily caught but catching the big fish needs time and good bait as well as participation from all sides.

He revealed there was a case where the NACC found two politicians committing ethical misconduct as political position holders and the cases went to court, which ruled against them. They were then removed from their positions.

He also talked about NACC's investigation into the alleged massive corruption in the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department, saying the arrest of the most senior official was the result of cooperation between many agencies.

The laws today are severe and we have caught not only small but also big fish. However, NACC do not hold a press conference to announce the arrests and in the future, NACC is planning to reveal the progress of its investigation to the public.

This will allow the complainant, the public, and other parties to jointly examine the NACC's work.

He also mentioned the criticism that the National Parks department that is under the NACC's probe had obtained a high score of 85 marks and Grade A in NACC's Integrity and Transparency Assessment (ITA).

ITA is just a preliminary framework assessment of three aspects of work conducted by both insiders and outsiders who use the service and disclose information on issues such as procurement.

------------------------

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) is a constitutional independent organization and supervised by nine commissioners selected from various professions. It is authorised to undertake work on the prevention and suppression of malfeasance, particularly in government agencies, on assets investigations, as well as on the monitoring of ethics and virtues of political position holders.

It has the authority to file charges in court as well as support and build up awareness of the penalties for committing corruption. The NACC is supervised by the NACC Board and has the Office of the NACC as its administrative agency.


Since 1997, Thai Courts have ruled against and punished politicians, former ministers, high-ranking government officials as well as executives of the private sector in the thousands of cases submitted by the NACC.

Website: https://www.nacc.go.th/english
Hashtag: #NACC #NACF #AntiCorruption #Thailand

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

News from Asia

Tenchijin Named Finalist for IVS2025 LAUNCHPAD

Exhibiting at IVS Startup Market to Showcase Advanced Water DX Solutions TOKYO, JAPAN - Media OutReach Newswire - 30 June 2025 - Tenchijin Inc...

ESET and Canon Extends Regional Alliance to Combat Asia’s Security Challenges

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 30 June 2025 – ESET Asia Pte. Ltd. ("ESET"), a global leader in cybersecurity, and Canon Singapore Pte. Ltd. ("Canon") today announced the signing of a Memora...

Counterfeit and Refurbished Transducers Pose Serious Safety Risks

Merz Aesthetics® Hong Kong Launches Ultherapy® Authenticity Verification Reward Program This August Consumers Urged to Verify Ultherapy® Transducers Authenticity for Safe and Effective Treatments H...

Porsche Design Tower Bangkok and Curvistan Bangkok Host an Exclusive Preview of the "Electrifying Past. Present. Future." Exhibition

BANGKOK, THAILAND - Media OutReach Newswire - 28 April 2025 - Porsche Design Tower Bangkok showcased its commitment to innovation by hosting an exclusive evening reception with Curvistan Bangkok, ...

Hong Kong: Bridging Business Opportunities under the Belt and Road Initiative

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 30 June 2025 - As a global trade and financial centre and a key link in the Belt and Road Initiative (B&RI), Hong Kong plays a pivotal role in connect...

Octa Black: Octa broker's premium trading experience

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach Newswire - 1 July 2025 - Octa, a globally regulated and trusted broker since 2011, rewards its high-value clients in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Nigeria with a...

Gaw Capital Appoints Nicholas Toh as Managing Director – Head of Data Centre Platform, Asia (Ex-China)

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire – 1 July 2025 – Gaw Capital Partners, a leading multi-asset investment management firm, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Nicholas Toh as Managin...

Prime Immigration Consultancy Announces Expansion of Service Offerings to Help Clients Achieve the Singapore Dream

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 1 July 2025 - Prime Immigration Consultancy (PIC), a Singapore-based immigration consultancy, has announced an expansion of its services to provide more comp...

ICONSIAM in Collaboration with Shanghai Yuyuan Tourist Mart Group Brings China’s Most Iconic Lantern Festival to Thailand for the First Time

“Yuyuan Lantern Festival 2025” Lights Up Bangkok to Celebrate 50 Years of Thai–Chinese Diplomatic Ties BANGKOK, THAILAND - Media OutReach Newswire - 1 July 2025 - ICONSIAM, the global landmark al...

SIBUR to expand cooperation with clients in Bangladesh

MOSCOW, RUSSIA - Media OutReach Newswire - 1 July 2025 - SIBUR, Russia's largest producer of polymers and synthetic rubbers, sees potential to increase supplies to Bangladesh following the launch ...

Demand for Home Batteries surges as Federal Rebate Kicks In

A leading provider of energy solutions VoltX Energy has seen a 400% increase in demand for home batteries in the past three weeks as people put d...

Why Sport Remains the Safest Bet in an Uncertain World

When Rome was in crisis, its leaders did not retreat to the Senate. They went to the circus. To the chariot races. To the gladiators. Sport was no...

THE FINE LINE WITHIN HILARIOUS SIGNAGE DESIGN FAILS

It seems like design failures still occur in today’s modern branding era, despite rigorous rounds of approvals behind the scenes. One signage show...

Deputy Announces Exclusive Global Partnership with Predelo to Bring AI to Shift-Based Businesses

Deputy, the global people platform for shift-based businesses, has announced an exclusive partnership with Predelo, an AI Decision Agent-as-a-Serv...

Leftover Budget? The Last-Minute EOFY Tip to Drive Business Success in FY25/26

The countdown is on. With just days left until EOFY, now’s the time to make your remaining 2024–2025 budget work harder and smarter. After workin...

pay.com.au appoints new CEO and Managing Director

The former COO will lead the company’s next growth phase, with ex-CEO Edward Alder transitioning into the role of Managing Director AUSTRALIA, 25...

Sell by LayBy