BANGKOK, 6 September 2012 – The Office of the Ombudsman of Thailand has accepted for consideration the claim that Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong told white lies about the country’s export growth figures.
According to Office of the Ombudsman Secretary-General Chalermsak Chantim, the Office has accepted the claim by the Green Group asking for Mr Kittiratt to clarify his lies on the export growth figures. Mr Chalermsak said the office is sending requests to all related parties to testify, adding that the finance minister must testify first.
Mr Kittiratt earlier admitted that he had lied that the export expansion this year was estimated at 15% but, the actual figure sank below half of what he had declared. This week, the Finance Ministry announced that it has adjusted its export growth target down to 5-6% for this year, given the export sector was heavily affected by the global economic crisis in July.
