VIENTIANE, Laos – The People’s Court of Vientiane Capital has sentenced a Thai businessman and nine former senior Lao government officials to life imprisonment after convicting them in four major corruption and bribery cases involving state agencies, banks and the national power utility. At a press conference on July 1, Acting Head of the Vientiane People’s Court Office, Lindamone Sidaphone, announced the verdicts against 17 defendants, including two women. The cases involved former high-ranking government officials, state enterprise executives and business figures accused of embezzlement, bribery, abuse of office and document forgery. The first case involved corruption within Laos’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Former ministry official Soukkhounkham Kaewmano was sentenced to life imprisonment for embezzlement and document forgery. The court also ordered her to repay 6.5 million baht in damages to the ministry, in addition to financial penalties.
The second case centred on a bribery network involving eight former senior officials from the State Inspection Authority, the Bank of the Lao PDR, the Party Inspection Department and other government agencies. Among those sentenced to life imprisonment were Sithone Souliyavong, a former department head at the State Inspection Authority, and Od Phomxiengdy, a former department head at the Bank of the Lao PDR. Other defendants received prison terms ranging from two to 12 years. Authorities also ordered the confiscation of hundreds of thousands of US dollars in illicit cash, luxury Mercedes-Benz and Audi vehicles, and land assets. The third case involved fraud at the Agricultural Promotion Bank, where four defendants—including former government officials and businesspeople—were convicted of defrauding the state, bribery and document forgery.
Former officials Viengsouk Simmakhone and Bounlom Phongchalern were both sentenced to life imprisonment. Businessman Duangta Hanuvong received a 10-year prison sentence, while Khamphaeng Vichidvongsa was sentenced to two years after receiving a reduced sentence for cooperating with investigators and partially compensating the losses. The court also ordered the defendants to jointly pay fines equivalent to one percent of the total damages, estimated at 14.3 billion kip, as well as fines amounting to twice the value of the bribes involved. The fourth case focused on corruption linked to a state hydropower project operated by Electricité du Laos (EDL). Thai businessman Apichat Wannakul and four former senior EDL executives were each sentenced to life imprisonment after being convicted of defrauding the state, abuse of office and giving or receiving bribes.
The court ordered Apichat to pay US$24.8 million in compensation to EDL. Authorities also ordered the seizure and auction of his assets, including 10 bank accounts, 11 land plots and vehicles owned by him and his wife. If those assets prove insufficient to cover the damages, assets belonging to the four former EDL executives will also be confiscated and sold. In addition, more than US$1 million in bribe money was confiscated and forfeited to the Lao state. The verdicts are among the most significant corruption rulings handed down in Laos in recent years and underscore the government’s continuing campaign against graft involving senior officials, state enterprises and private-sector figures.
