Salaikate Wattanaphan, former president of the Supreme Court, has denied any involvement in the bribery case linked to a tax dispute involving a Thai subsidiary of automaker Toyota, Toyota Motor Thailand (TMT).
Thailand's Court of Justice Thursday said it was investigating claims that Toyota may have bribed sitting judges on the country's Supreme Court, citing Law360's exclusive report that detailed the carmaker's internal corruption probe and an ongoing Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation by U.S. law enforcement.
U.S. authorities are ramping up their Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigation of Toyota, with federal prosecutors impaneling a grand jury in Texas as they seek any evidence the carmaker bribed top Thai judges to overturn a $350 million tax judgment, according to a U.S. law enforcement official and documents related to the investigation.
Court vows action in Toyota bribery case
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published : 27 May 2021 at 20:24
80 Toyota Prius assembly line at the Tsutsumi plant in Aichi, Japan, in 2016. The model is at the centre of a tax case in Thailand and a foreign corrupt practices probe involving Thai judges in the US. (Toyota Motor Corp photo)
The Thai Court of Justice has vowed to take action against wrongdoers following a report the US Department of Justice is taking the Toyota bribery probe involving three top Thai judges to a grand jury.
Law360, a website for law professionals, on Wednesday published an exclusive story on the case.
5 04 2021
At the end of March, Law 360 published the story “Toyota Probed Possible Bribes To Top Thai Judges,” written by Frank G. Runyeon. It is a story about Toyota investigating and reporting itself on possible corruption in Thailand.
It took more than six months of internal investigation “before Toyota disclosed concerns to U.S. authorities…” in April 2020.
It found that “its consultants paid off Thai judges and government officials in an effort to overturn a $350 million import tax judgment related to its Prius cars…”. The report states:
… documents obtained exclusively by Law360 and court filings in a related case show the company previously conducted its own investigation led by counsel at WilmerHale. Code-named “Project Jack,” it sought to determine whether Toyota Motor Thailand violated the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or the U.K. Bribery Act by making payments to outside law firms or consultants that may have been passed to o