The National Legislative Assembly (NLA) is set to vote on the impeachment bids against former commerce minister Boonsong Teriyapirom, his then deputy and a senior ministry official later on Friday.
The three are accused of corruption in government-to-government (G-to-G) rice deals.
The schedule was announced by NLA president Pornpetch Wichitcholchai following closing statements on the case yesterday.
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) brought charges of corruption against Mr Boonsong, his former deputy Phoom Sarapol and ex-Department of Foreign Trade director-general Manas Soythong, accusing them of faking a government-to-government rice deal and reselling state-owned produce to domestic firms with close ties to the Yingluck Shinawatra administration.
Speaking at the NLA meeting yesterday, anti-graft commissioner Vicha Mahakun said the G-to-G rice deals did not exist. They were a ploy that caused severe damage to the country, with the complicity of civil servants and private companies, he said.
Mr Boonsong, Mr Phoom and Mr Manas failed to ascertain whether Guangdong Stationery & Sporting Goods Import & Export and Hainan Grain & Oil Industrial Trading Co were really authorised by the Chinese government to purchase the rice under a G-to-G deal, Mr Vicha said.
The two firms were not rice trading companies, he said.
The Thai representatives of the companies were a delivery man and driver of Siam Indica Co, Mr Vicha said. Siam Indica Co is alleged to have bought the paddy at lower than market rates from the two firms.
Mr Phoom said he only approved the G-to-G rice deal from a proposal made by the Department of Foreign Trade and believed the deal could help release a huge amount of paddy in stockpiles.
If fraud is uncovered, action should be taken against the defrauders, not those involved with the scheme, he insisted.
Mr Boonsong insisted the two companies are Chinese state enterprises and the G-to-G deal existed.
He said the NACC was prejudiced against him.
