Thread: Ex-TAT Chief Faces Criminal Charge Over 2001 Film Festival Bribery

Lights, Camera, Action!



The attorney general will file a lawsuit against former Tourism Authority governor
Juthamas Siriwan for demanding a bribe. (File photo by Kitja Apichonrojarek)

Bangkok Post
November 12, 2014
Writer: Online Reporters

The Office of the Attorney-General (OAG) will file a lawsuit against a former Tourism Authority of Thailand governor for demanding a bribe from an American film-making couple in 2001.

The legal action came five years after the couple were convicted and sentenced in the US for the crime. Gerald and Patricia Green were convicted in 2009 on charges of conspiracy, violating the US anti-corruption laws and money-laundering. They were sentenced to six months' home detention and paid US$250,000 in restitution.

They were arrested in 2007 and found guilty of bribing Juthamas Siriwan, the then governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, to win contracts to manage and operate the annual film festival in Bangkok from 2002-06 during the Thaksin Shinawatra government.

The US indictment said the Greens paid US$1.8 million (57 million baht) in bribes to Mrs Juthamas' daughter via bank accounts in Singapore, New Jersey and Britain that were set up in the names of her daughter and a friend.

Vichai Vivitsevi, an anti-corruption commissioner, said on Wednesday Mrs Juthamas would be charged with violating anti-corruption laws.

The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) also set up a committee to look into Mrs Juthamas's wealth at present. In late 2013, the NACC sent the case to the OAG, who turned it down citing inadequate evidence. The two agencies then set up a joint panel to work together and seek more evidence from the US.

The NACC is also seeking a return of the $1.8-million bribe to Thailand under a bilateral agreement with the US on criminal cooperation and a UN anti-corruption treaty.

Ex-TAT chief faces criminal charge | Bangkok Post: news

I remember reading of this case long ago and it's good to see that legal action is finally being taken against the TAT official.

Thai Supreme Court upholds 50 year prison sentence for ex-tourism chief

The Supreme Court upheld the decades long prison sentences for the former Tourism Authority of Thailand governor and her daughter who took bribes from Hollywood producers for a contract to manage Bangkok International Film Festival from 2002 to 2007. The ruling puts an end to the high profile case.


The Supreme Court upheld the Appeal Court ruling from May 2019, sentencing former TAT governor 73 year old Juthamas Siriwan to 50 years in prison and her daughter 46 year old Jittisopha to 40 years in prison.


In 2009, Los Angeles-area film executives and married couple Gerald and Patricia Green were found guilty of paying bribes to the senior Thai tourism official to obtain a contract to manage and operate the annual film festival, according to a statement by the United States Department of Justice.

Juthamas and Jittisopha weren’t indicted until August 2015 for demanding and receiving bribes from the American producers. The Bangkok Post says in exchange for the bribe money, they awarded the couple with a 60 million baht contract to organise the film festival from 2002 to 2007. They opened accounts at several foreign banks to launder the $1.8 million USD paid by the Greens.


The mother and daughter were sentenced to prison in 2017. Last year, the Appeal Court reduced Jittisopha’s sentence because she was not involved in bribery in the 2007 festival, cutting her prison time from 44 to 40 years. The Supreme Court confirmed the Appeal Court sentencing, putting an end to the case.

Thai Supreme Court upholds 50 year prison sentence for ex-tourism chief | The Thaiger

Someone in Thailand must have been really upset that they missed out on their cut!

Hollywood executives jailed for Thai film festival bribery

Two married Hollywood movie executives have been jailed for six months in Los Angeles for bribing Thai officials so they could run the Bangkok International Film Festival.

Hollywood executives jailed for Thai film festival bribery

Thai policy on free expression inhibits any reasonable debate provoked by this sentence.