Don't forget the Greens

A trial is set to start on April 21 for Hollywood producer Gerald Green and his wife Patricia, who are being charged with violating the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with the Bangkok International Film Festival bribery scandal.

The U.S. Department of Justice arrested the Greens in December 2007, saying they had paid $1.8 million in bribes to a Thai government official in order to be awarded contracts to run the festival from 2004 to 2006.

The FCPA Blog has the latest on the Greens' case. Here's an excerpt:

In yet another sign of growing cross-border cooperation in the fight against public corruption, the Thai Department of Special Investigation has apparently been sharing potential evidence it collected with U.S. authorities. Pretrial maneuverings show that the Greens have tangled with prosecutors over "hundreds of documents written in the Thai language, which the plaintiff, United States of America, apparently received from the Kingdom of Thailand." The U.S. hasn't said yet which of those documents it intends to use at trial.

On the receiving end of the bribes, the Justice Department's case pointed to "the Governor" of the Tourism Authority of Thailand. During that timeframe, that person was Juthamas Siriwan, who was also president of the Bangkok International Film Festival from 2003 to 2006. In 2007, she was a deputy leader of the Puea Pandin party, but bowed out of the election when news of the Greens' arrest broke.

She has denied any wrongdoing and has threatened to sue anyone who links her to the case. However, Thailand's DSI said the allegations were "well founded", and the case was forwarded to the government's anti-corruption body.