New Laws Are Needed To Combat Money Laundering: Thai Opinion

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EDITORIAL

New laws are needed to combat money laundering

The Nation

BANGKOK: -- If the government does not take strong action against those who finance terrorism and other crimes, Thailand's international credibility as a business hub will be eroded

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental organisation, has listed Thailand among countries deemed to be deficient in combating money laundering amid growing concern about the financing of terrorism.

Thailand has been blacklisted along with 15 other countries including Ghana, Kenya and Syria. These countries are regarded as not having shown sufficient progress in the fight against dirty money. The listing is unfortunate because it tarnishes the country's reputation.

The Paris-based FATF reported, "Thailand has not made sufficient progress in implementing its action plan, and certain deficiencies remain in strategic anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT)."

The focus here now is on two pieces of proposed legislation: the anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist-financing laws. But the real issue nonetheless lies in the messages from the Thai government.

While the passage of the new legislation will take time, the government has still not made any strong statement on what it plans to do to fight money laundering and terrorist financing. This is despite the fact that Thailand has recently been in the international spotlight as a possible target for terrorist attacks.

In fact, the FATF does not merely suggest the prompt passage of new laws. It also suggested, "Thailand should work on implementing its action plan to address the remaining deficiencies, including by: adequately criminalising terrorist financing; establishing and implementing adequate procedures to identify and freeze terrorist assets; and further strengthening AML/CFT supervision."

Thailand aspires to become a regional financial centre. The listing of Thailand on the money laundering watchlist could now impede international financial transactions that involve Thailand. These kind of transactions will now likely take longer to complete as banks and other institutions are forced to investigate and verify the sources of money. Consequently, the financial costs of doing business will increase.

The government should make it clear to the international community that it has paid attention to the issue, and will not tolerate any party using Thailand as a base to launder dirty money or as a centre to finance terrorism.

So far, however, the government has not made any such forceful statement. Aside from the anti-money laundering issue, the government's reaction to the explosions on Sukhumvit Soi 71 last week has also been inadequate. The motive of the bombers is, of course, still under investigation. But even while there is still speculation over the suspects' connections to international terrorist groups, the government should make clearer statements instead of just saying that, apparently, the attackers were not targeting Thai citizens.

In the meantime, the Anti-Money Laundering Prevention and Suppression Office (AMLO) should demonstrate that it has the ability to uncover and prevent the washing of dirty money in Thailand. In fact, AMLO has been given full authority to work with financial institutions in reporting potentially illegal transactions. But the agency's performance has so far not been impressive, judging partly by the recent listing by the FATF.

The blacklisting of Thailand will certainly affect confidence among our business partners. Any doubts over money transactions or the sources of money could discourage potential business partners from engaging in contracts with Thai partners, for fear of possible issues that could arise later.

At the same time as new legislation is promoted to provide an infrastructure to enforce the law against money laundering, improved corporate governance must also be promoted. Financial transactions are executed via private companies such as banking and financial institutions. Financial institutions and corporations must also play their part. By cooperating with the authorities and refusing to take part in money laundering, they can make life all the harder for those who seek to commit illegal acts in Thailand.

-- The Nation 2012-02-21

[fire and ice]

Thailand has been blacklisted along with 15 other countries including Ghana, Kenya and Syria. These countries are regarded as not having shown sufficient progress in the fight against dirty money. The listing is unfortunate because it tarnishes the country's reputation.

Yes but some girls were seen publicly without their tops on so this is a much more serious tarnishing of Thailand's image.....

At least they aren't as bad as places like Afghanistan where (today) hundreds(?) want BLOOD because some people burnt copies of the Quran, but none of them seem to give a hoot when people get killed, raped, etc. When a book is more important than lives you know are not dealing with sane people.