Finance Ministry deal reminiscent of Thaksin's former practices

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.

The source also told The Nation this case, in which a Cabinet approval was sought to bypass rules and regulations, was similar to how ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra had asked the Cabinet to approve the two- and three-digit lotteries a few years ago.

The Supreme Court recently accepted the lottery case for trial.

Regarding the "Thailand's Confidence" trade-fair case, the OAG source said choosing a private firm without the normal bidding process could result in damage to the state, a waste of public funds or other procurement irregularities.

In addition, the Finance Ministry should not have held such an event, because it is usually the duty of the Commerce Ministry to host trade fairs that sell low-priced goods to the general public.

In fact, the Commerce Ministry wanted to host the event but was superseded by the Finance Ministry, which announced its plan first. The Commerce Ministry organised a similar event last week.

Ministry sources said unnamed lobbyists from CM Organiser, which is listed on the Market for Alternative Investment, met with Surapong a day before the Cabinet granted approval in June.

Initially, they proposed the Finance Ministry spend up to Bt100 million to organise the "Thailand's Confidence" event.

The budget was later cut, and CM Organiser was awarded the contract. The company had also won several contracts from the Thaksin government.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Surapong said he would submit another plan to the Cabinet today to organise a grand exhibition on mega-infrastructure projects.

The event is scheduled for next month as part of a government plan to stimulate economic growth.