On June 3, Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation (DSI) provided an update on a major corruption case involving bid-rigging under the Act on Offenses Relating to the Submission of Bids to State Agencies B.E. 2542 (1999). This case centers around the alleged use of a nominee company, China Railway Number 10 (Thailand) Co., Ltd., and involves three state contracts tied to the construction of the Office of the Auditor General (OAG)—including construction, design, and supervision contracts.
The DSI uncovered extensive evidence suggesting irregularities in the bidding process. Interviews with firms that submitted bids via E-Bidding revealed that, in addition to the six entities within the PKW Joint Venture responsible for the project’s supervision contract, senior officials within the OAG were involved in rigging the bids.
The case is now officially registered as Special Case No. 58/2568. Evidence has been submitted to the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for investigation under anti-corruption laws and the bidding law, as it involves misconduct by public officials.
Among the accused in the PKW Joint Venture are:
- P.N. Synchronize Co., Ltd.
- Mr. Patiwat Sirithai
- KP Consultants and Management Co., Ltd.
- Mr. Kritapat (surname withheld)
- W. and Associates Consultants Co., Ltd., represented by Mr. Chokwichit Laksanakorn (alias Poldej Therdpitakwarnich) and Ms. Praneet Saengalangkan
- Mr. Poldej Therdpitakwarnich (listed separately as well)
Investigators found that engineering signatures had been forged to falsely confirm site supervision, constituting fraud.
Testimonies from key OAG insiders pointed to violations of Section 11 of the bidding law, which criminalizes manipulating project specifications, pricing, or terms to favor certain bidders and eliminate fair competition—punishable by 5–20 years or life imprisonment and fines of 100,000–400,000 baht.
The investigation revealed that high-level OAG executives not only enabled but orchestrated the rigged bidding. Specific firms were hand-picked for each stage: Meinhardt (Thailand) Ltd. was pre-selected for design to favor the ITD-CREC joint venture (China Railway & Italian-Thai), and PKW was selected to “supervise” the project without performing real oversight.
DSI will forward the completed case file to the NACC next week for further action. The NACC’s full commission will decide whether DSI should continue with parts of the investigation or if the NACC will take full charge. Three senior OAG officials, including one top-level executive, are among those expected to be summoned for investigation alongside the six PKW executives.