Former finance minister Thanong Bidaya has been acquitted of bribery in a deal to supply Rolls-Royce engines to Thai Airways International (THAI) more than three decades ago.
The Criminal Court for Corruption and Misconduct Cases on Tuesday dismissed the case, saying the evidence against Mr Thanong and the other defendant lacked enough weight.
The ruling comes eight years after the original admissions, in a British court, of misconduct by the UK-based engine maker in dealings with Thailand.
The indictment against Rolls-Royce showed the bribes began in 1991, when the military regime headed by Gen Suchinda Krapayoon was in power, and continued all the way until after the coup that ousted the Thaksin government in 2006.
The case was filed by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), which found grounds to support allegations that Mr Thanong broke the State Employees Offences Act when he was serving as THAI chairman and an adviser on long-term investments by the national carrier.
The other defendant was Kaweepan Ruengpaka, a former vice-president for finance at the airline.
The NACC decided to take the case to court after the Office of the Attorney General decided not to do so, and sent the case back to the agency.
The NACC launched its investigation after Rolls-Royce admitted misconduct to the British Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in January 2017.
In statements given to the SFO, Rolls-Royce admitted to paying about 254 million baht to individuals to help it secure a deal with the Thai government to purchase Rolls-Royce Trent 800 engines for six Boeing 777 aircraft and Trent 500 engines for seven Airbus A340 aircraft.
A statement of facts prepared in a British court said the bribery took place between 1991 and 2005 and involved payments totalling $36.3 million (1.28 billion baht) to “regional intermediaries”.
Some of the money was for “agents of the state of Thailand and employees of Thai Airways”, the document said.
Several ex-cabinet ministers and executives of THAI were investigated, and in August 2022, the NACC deemed Mr Thanong and Mr Kaweepan had breached the State Employees Offences Act.