Police Arrest Ex-Official Over Fake 47 Contracts Scheme
Authorities have arrested a former sub-district official in Phetchabun for creating 47 fictitious projects worth over 70 million baht using fake documents. The scheme involved falsely claiming budget approval to award contracts, which later led to a court ordering payment to contractors. The case highlights ongoing efforts by Thailand's anti-corruption agency to combat fraud at the local level.
Between November 18, 2011 and February 8, 2012, the former official submitted forged letters from the Department of Local Government Promotion into the sub-district office's administrative system, pretending that budget allocations had been approved. He used these documents to justify 47 contracts with contractors, although no actual budget had been granted. Later, contractors sued the sub-district office in administrative court, which ruled that the office must pay 23 of the contracts, totaling 70,151,215.11 baht, causing financial loss to both the contractors and the local authority.
