A team of investigators will be sent to Austria next month to check allegations concerning the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration's (BMA) purchase of fire-trucks and boats last year.

Department of Special Investigation (DSI) director-general  Pol General Sombat Amornvivat said a team led by his deputy, Colonel Thawee Sodsong, and a public prosecutor would leave early next month to establish the true cost of the fire-fighting equipment and to study the contracts in detail.

The investigators would be in Austria for about a week and then return home with the results. They will submit their findings to the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) by the end of the month.

The Austrian firm involved, Steyr Daimler Puch, yesterday dismissed charges that it was not 100 per cent Austrian-owned, saying it was registered under Austrian law and an active member of the Austrian Economic Council.

The company said its major stakeholder was Vienna-based General Dynamics European Land Combat Systems. Deputy chief executive Mario Minar said the company had revealed all facts about the Bt6.68-billion deal on February 22 and did not understand the objective, nor the motive, of the investigation.

He said it appeared it was motivated by political or personal agendas.

He said the contract stipulated that the deal was not effective until the Letter of Credit was opened. Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin opened the letter on January 10, 2005, he said, and the deal became effective on January 21.

"Having been in business in Thailand for more than 15 years, Steyr wishes to maintain good business relations in the country for as long as possible. In this case the company has assigned legal advisers to study the possibility of filing lawsuits against people trying to discredit the deal," Minar said.

"We never forced the BMA to choose us, and they could have chosen another company if they found the proposal by Steyr was not acceptable or was too expensive," he said.

Meanwhile, Democrat deputy leader Alongkorn Pollabutr yesterday threatened to sue former Bangkok governor Samak Sundaravej and former interior minister Bhokin Bhalakula.

Alongkorn said he was willing to fight and was considering suing Samak and Bhokin next week, arguing that false libel suits had been filed against him.

Alongkorn also said that while he had urged the NCCC to summon everyone involved in the deal for questioning, he did not think Apirak should be held responsible for buying the fire-fighting equipment.

He argued that Apirak had twice sent letters to the Krung Thai Bank and the Foreign Trade Department stating he did not want to buy the equipment.