The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) has concluded there are grounds to allegations former Bangkok deputy governor Jumpol Sampaopol and 13 others were involved in irregularities in City Hall's controversial multi-million-baht "Bangkok Light of Happiness" project.
However, MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra, who was city governor at the time, is not among them.
NACC member Suwanna Suwanjutha, who chaired an NACC sub-committee set up to probe the 39.5-million baht light show, said on Wednesday that the full NACC had found there are grounds to the allegations against the 14.
Mr Jumpol, along with three private firms, was among the 14 under investigation by the sub-panel for involvement in alleged budget misspending and collusion in the project.
Ms Suwanna said the NACC is firming up details of the findings before forwarding them to public prosecutors in the next two weeks. The NACC will then announce official details, she said.
Asked if any person holding a higher position than the former deputy governor is implicated in the probe, Ms Suwanna said there was not.
The 39.5-million-baht event, intended to be a 2015-2016 New Year 'gift" from the former governor as a boost to the local economy, featured a tunnel of coloured lights at Lan Khon Muang Plaza in front of City Hall on Din So Road.
The project involved five million LED lights and crystal light fixtures that critics regarded as a waste of taxpayers’ money. The Office of the Auditor General indicated from the start there were possible irregularities in the project’s spending.
Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha invoked Section 44 to remove MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra and his deputies from office on Oct 18 last year after MR Sukhumbhand was suspended from work without pay on Aug 25 last year amid allegations of misspending state funds.
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