Government Agencies Step-up Efforts against Money Laundering

The Anti- Money-Laundering Office has announced additional regulations to prevent terrorists from utilizing insurance businesses for money-laundering schemes or for funding terrorism related activities.

Acting Permanent-Secretary of the Committee for Anti- Money-Laundering Office, General Srihanard Prayoonrud has worked with and endorsed the Permanent-Secretary of the Committee for Supervision and Promotion of Insurance Business Operation, Chantra Buranaruek to prevent terrorists from using insurance businesses for money-laundering schemes.

The Anti- Money-Laundering Office or AMLO will soon announce six additional regulations regarding insurance businesses, money institutes, and credit card business operators.

The new regulations will be implemented from the second quarter of this year.

As part of the new laws and regulations, business operators will be required to submit their monthly business reports.

They are required to collect customer information such as names, addresses, and occupations in order to confirm the existence of all customers.

This form of risk management is crucial to ensuring that all customers’ monetary transactions are in line with their actual histories, to prevent any money laundering or funding of illegal activities.

These cooperative acts will increase transparency in money-laundering prevention, such as in cases when terrorists use money from narcotics businesses to buy life insurance, or when call-center gangs illegally manipulate customers to make payments to them over the phone.

The new laws and regulations will come into effect after 90 days of its publication in the Government Gazette.

However, the government will provide a two-year grace period to allow business operators to adjust their business routines.

Chantra further emphasized that in the past the commission has used detailed programs to thoroughly inspect customer information, but they have not yet been able to detect customers involved in money-laundering through insurance businesses.

It is hoped that through cooperation with AMLO, inspections will meet international standards.

-- Tan Network 2011-04-27

Guess anti-money laundering in Thailand is customized to Terrorists using insurance businesses for these schemes. Why is it always on a case by case basis? Anti-money laundering should apply to anyone, or juristic persons.