Thailand will charge a unit of Finnish Poyry with colluding on bids for work at Bangkok’s new multi-billion dollar Suvarnabhumi airport, a Thai official said on June 27, 2007. The head of Poyry’s energy division in Thailand denied any wrongdoing on the part of the company, and said it had not received any formal notice of the case.
Thailand’s Asset Scrutiny Committee planned to officially notify Electrowatt-Ekono (Thailand) Co Ltd, responsible for the design and paperwork for the bidding next week as reported by an ASC official.
“We will send them letters to inform them about the charges,” he said of seven individuals and companies accused of collusion.
The investigation is part of ASC’s probe of alleged wrongdoing under ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who drove the construction of the $4.5 billion airport.
“Of course (the allegations) are not justified. We have done absolutely nothing wrong,” Angel Rodero, managing director for Poyry energy division in Thailand, adding that Poyry had only heard about the case through the media.
The ASC said in a statement that the individuals included Mongkol Naengnoi, project manager of the Thai unit of Finnish consulting and engineering group Poyry, and Chamnien Phanrahan, its design engineer.
“We plan to issue the letters next week. They will have about 15 days to come to ASC office to acknowledge the charges and about 30 days to respond,” the ASC official said.
If found guilty, the individuals faced minimum jail terms of five years and fines of between 100,000 baht and 400,000 baht ($2,900-$11,600), he said. The companies faced fines and bans from bidding for state projects.
