Thai anti-graft body charges ex-commerce minister over rice deal

Boonsong Teriyapirom, a former commerce minister, and his deputy in the government of ousted Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, are accused of falsifying government-to-government rice deals between Thailand and China in 2013.

The Thai government said at the time it had sold 1.2 million tonnes of rice from its stockpiles to China to reduce stocks.

"The accused colluded to violate criminal law. The deal never happened. There was no government-to-government deal," said Wicha Mahakun, a member of Thailand's National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC).

"The NACC has resolved to charge former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom and Poom Sarapol, former deputy commerce minister, a total of 21 ministers and private sector employees," Wicha said.

The decision comes as Thailand's legislature prepares to vote this week in a case against Yingluck over her role in a rice buying scheme that lost the state $15 billion (10 billion pounds), according to the latest finance ministry estimates.

Yingluck faces a separate criminal case over the scheme. Public prosecutors and the NACC said on Tuesday they would forward the case against her to the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders for deliberation.

NACC member Wicha said the government-to-government deal announced by Boonsong and Pool had caused "huge losses" and that this case would also be forwarded to the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office Holders.

The NACC said the rice was sold locally and not exported, as claimed by the then-government. It said it was sold to China-based Guandong Stationery & Sporting Goods Imp. & Exp. Corp. and Hainan Grain and Oil Industrial Trading Company, who in turn sold it back to Thailand's Siam Indica, a rice trading company.

None of the companies could immediately be reached for comment.

The two Chinese firms were in no way acting on behalf of the Chinese government, the NACC said in its statement.

Wicha did not give any indication of the price of the rice deals, nor how much money was lost, but said the NACC would ask the commerce ministry to investigate the alleged losses.

Yingluck's government built up huge stockpiles under the rice buying scheme, in which it bought the grain from farmers at prices way above the market level, making exports uncompetitive.

Opponents of the scheme, which ended in February 2014, say it was riddled with corruption and led to smuggling of rice from neighbouring countries to take advantage of the prices on offer.

(Reporting by Aukkarapon Niyomyat and Panarat Thepgumpanat; writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; editing by David Clarke)