MP Calls for Corruption Probe into TH-AI Passport Project

Ice Rakchonok, a Member of Parliament for Bangkok, has filed a complaint with the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) against five individuals, including Minister Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (DE), Permanent Secretary Pachara Anantasilpa, Secretary-General of the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) Weerangkoon Phuangsap, TOR drafting committee chairman Teerawut, and Human Intelligence Co., Ltd. executive director and board member Pawakwan. The complaint seeks an investigation into alleged corruption related to the TH-AI Passport project. Rakchonok stated that she had previously warned that if the DE Ministry proceeded with the TH-AI Passport project and registered users, she would file a complaint with the NACC. She raised concerns about the lack of transparency, particularly regarding the alleged "locked specifications" in the tender documents (TOR). These specifications included requirements for billboards of no less than 400 points, convenience stores with no less than 6,000 screens/1,500 branches, and shopping malls of no less than 200 points. She noted that only a few companies could meet these criteria, and the winning private entity was a company that possessed screens nationwide. Regarding the alleged corruption of the budget, Rakchonok mentioned that the contract, initially a fixed lump-sum of 1.6 billion baht, was later changed to a pay-per-use model after being scrutinized. Currently, with approximately 1.3 million registered users and about 100,000 active users, the actual expenditure is estimated to be only around 2.4 to 2.5 million baht per person (25 baht per head). Previously, the parliamentary committee had requested important information from the DE Ministry for consideration, such as the technical proposals from the three bidding companies to investigate bid-rigging. Consequently, the committee had to exercise its authority under the summons law to request documents by September 8 and scheduled a further meeting for September 10. MP Ice Rakchonok also indicated plans to file a complaint with the Central Investigation Bureau for a joint investigation into the case. She stated that while it might be impossible to halt the project at this stage, she hopes to see those responsible punished. "Ultimately, if the case concludes, I want to see people go to jail. Since they dared to push this forward, challenging the public's eyes, challenging the media's attention, and challenging the law, I believe that if the sky turns golden one day, wrongdoers will be imprisoned and punished," she asserted. Meanwhile, Theerachat commented that the THAI AI Passport app essentially acts as a front-end interface connected to various AI services in the backend. He recalled concerns about the authenticity of tokens when the issue was first raised. He noted that many IT experts have been using the app, and while he, as a party with a conflict of interest, avoids direct reviews, the weight of their opinions is significant. He further stated that the importance of tokens has become clear today. As Ice Rakchonok mentioned, the difference between the current 1.621 billion baht and yesterday's reported active users (approximately 100,000 people) costing 2.75 million baht, leaves a difference of over 1.4 billion baht. Source: INN News