Today, the National Corruption Commission chairman was seen taking giant brown paper bags stuffed with play money from T-Cash, the mascot of the Corruption Expo, a huge pink pig with dollar signs in his eyes. The exhibition, the first of its kind, will attract more than 10,000 shady characters, dodgy businessmen, government officials and plenty of generals.“We want to show the world Thailand is still a leader in corruption,” the chairman told reporters, who had all been either paid to show up or threatened with defamation suits if they did not publish his comments in full.Since Thaksin was thrown out of power, there have been concerns that Thailand’s once legendary reputation for corruption is weakening. “I’m sick of hearing that bribes are on the decline,” said one Corruption Expo participant selling fake-intention detectors to security forces. “In fact, if you look at all the reports from the World Bank, corruption under this government is at least as good as under Thaksin, if not better.”The chairman was even more upbeat, based on the recently released report from Transparency International. “Thailand was at its cleanest in 2005, with a frighteningly good grade of 3.8. Thankfully, the military greatly improved corruption after the 2006 coup and our grade dropped to 3.3. It’s now 3.5, which is very corrupt but still leaves a lot to be desired, if we want to remain competitive with Burma or Cambodia.”The expo aims to highlight the benefits of corruption. Luxury cars, homes in national parks, Russian “models” and booths flaunting casinos from Monaco to Macau will all be available. “People need to understand just what corruption can do for them. It’s not just about the money. Corruption is a lifestyle choice,” said one offshore accounting consultant, who was offering a free facelift with every million baht laundered through his company.The Corruption Expo runs Nov 10-13 at the Kinkee Entertainment Plaza in Ratchada. By invitation only (but slip us a grand and BK will see if we can get you on the guest list).