PWO collaborates with NACC and Amlo for lawsuits over rubber glove corruption scandal

The Public Warehouse Organisation (PWO) is collaborating with the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) and Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) to proceed with lawsuits against individuals involved in the corruption surrounding the procurement of 500 million boxes of rubber gloves worth 112 billion baht in 2020.

PWO director Kriangsak Prateepvisut disclosed last week that the organization is preparing to file civil and criminal lawsuits against the offenders, following the NACC’s findings against 22 suspects last month. Among those accused are senior PWO officials allegedly involved in the gloves procurement corruption.

The initial damage to the PWO was estimated at 2 billion baht, excluding the interest that acting PWO director Rungroj Puttiyaphiwat and his associates allegedly colluded in withdrawing from the PWO’s bank account to pay a deposit to Guardian Gloves Co Ltd, according to Kriangsak.

During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Guardian Gloves received orders from the PWO to supply rubber gloves which were in high demand. The PWO put down a 2 billion baht deposit for the order but never received any gloves. Consequently, the organisation has now cancelled the contract with the firm. reported Bangkok Post.

Kriangsak revealed that the NACC had previously frozen 550 million baht of the 2 billion baht in Guardian Gloves’ bank account and 33 rai of land. In addition, Amlo uncovered further assets, but the total sum cannot be disclosed at this time. The PWO intends to cooperate with both agencies to recover its assets soon, Kriangsak added. He also mentioned that the tortious liability of state officials has been examined by the panel and will be submitted to the Finance Ministry to initiate a civil lawsuit.

Moreover, the PWO is coordinating with the NACC to acquire information and forward it to Amlo. This will enable them to investigate transactions with the firm and file criminal lawsuits regarding the corruption.