Thailand To Be Lifted From Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing Blacklist

[bunuel]

"To be or not to be, that is the question!"

Very misleading headline - clearly nothing has been officially decided. Of course,

this does not mean there has not been an informal arrangement!

[Locationthailand]

I don't think they have defined money laundering - if they mean using black money, untaxed, and then put into such things as building projects, then the source is corruption and the result waiting for future asset capital gain before funds can be truly declared as 'laundered'. I would love to see a need for declaration of fund sources on anything over a few million Baht but that ain't never going to happen. But if they mean money from say boiler rooms being put into insurgents hands or purchasing guns, then that is not very 'clean' considering it is classified as 'laundered'. A lot of boiler room funds have ended up in Thailand in cash businesses such as pubs which continue to generate cashflow ongoing after the initial 'deposit'. But trying to track the use of funds after the fact is hard due to the number of payoffs involved for silence along the way.

[asiamint]

I don't think they have defined money laundering - if they mean using black money, untaxed, and then put into such things as building projects, then the source is corruption and the result waiting for future asset capital gain before funds can be truly declared as 'laundered'. I would love to see a need for declaration of fund sources on anything over a few million Baht but that ain't never going to happen. But if they mean money from say boiler rooms being put into insurgents hands or purchasing guns, then that is not very 'clean' considering it is classified as 'laundered'. A lot of boiler room funds have ended up in Thailand in cash businesses such as pubs which continue to generate cashflow ongoing after the initial 'deposit'. But trying to track the use of funds after the fact is hard due to the number of payoffs involved for silence along the way.

there is actually a law on declaration of funds.

It's 2 million or over cash deposit at bank, this needs to be explained

And any land sale over 5 million needs to be expalined as well

I want the government/police to focus on violent crime, but as with most countrys they seem intent on cracking down on my civil rights.

for example i can't drive anyway without being pulled over at a checkpoint, then i go t to the bank and they ask a load of questions on every aspect of my life. i could go on and on.

The so called war on drugs in America in the 1980's was all about more tax and more control, the same goes here

So while viloent crime/ rapes, home robbery all soar the governments focus on money washing, that makes me feel so much safer

Edited February 28, 2013 by asiamint

[belg]

terrorists and their money is not what criples this country, policitians and corruption is problem nr 1

[oldsailor35]

There now! Does'nt it make one angry when one reads all those lies about corruption and money laundering in Thailand !

[harrry]

how much laundered money will this cost?

Yes, how much is it costing to get off this list?

Remember Bout. That is probably the price. Edited February 28, 2013 by harrry

[Payboy]

how much laundered money will this cost? Yes, how much is it costing to get off this list? Remember Bolt. That is probably the price.

Usain Bolt?

[harrry]

how much laundered money will this cost? Yes, how much is it costing to get off this list? Remember Bolt. That is probably the price.

Usain Bolt?

sorry that was a typo..or a senior moment.

[Payboy]

how much laundered money will this cost? Yes, how much is it costing to get off this list? Remember Bolt. That is probably the price.Usain Bolt?sorry that was a typo..or a senior moment.

All clear now.

[Thai at Heart]

I don't think they have defined money laundering - if they mean using black money, untaxed, and then put into such things as building projects, then the source is corruption and the result waiting for future asset capital gain before funds can be truly declared as 'laundered'. I would love to see a need for declaration of fund sources on anything over a few million Baht but that ain't never going to happen. But if they mean money from say boiler rooms being put into insurgents hands or purchasing guns, then that is not very 'clean' considering it is classified as 'laundered'. A lot of boiler room funds have ended up in Thailand in cash businesses such as pubs which continue to generate cashflow ongoing after the initial 'deposit'. But trying to track the use of funds after the fact is hard due to the number of payoffs involved for silence along the way.

there is actually a law on declaration of funds.

It's 2 million or over cash deposit at bank, this needs to be explained

And any land sale over 5 million needs to be expalined as well

I want the government/police to focus on violent crime, but as with most countrys they seem intent on cracking down on my civil rights.

for example i can't drive anyway without being pulled over at a checkpoint, then i go t to the bank and they ask a load of questions on every aspect of my life. i could go on and on.

The so called war on drugs in America in the 1980's was all about more tax and more control, the same goes here

So while viloent crime/ rapes, home robbery all soar the governments focus on money washing, that makes me feel so much safer

The ex defense minister has just laundered 67 mn inside Thailand.

You don't think that people buying 5mn usd apartments on bangkok are doing it because they are desperate for that view in klong toei do you?

a huge percentage of the whole economy here is based on black money. Now if they could get Japanese and Korean companies to adhere to anti bribery laws like the usa and eu, that would cause a real stink

Edited February 28, 2013 by Thai at Heart

[CaptainPeacock]

And so will open the flood gates for the 'unusually wealthy' to move their 'unusual wealth' to unusual parts of the world!

Sure, but farangs will still have to beg, cry, get approval from the Thai banking gods to send the equivalent of a a few thousand US dollars back to the home country. Well, you folks with work permits will still have it a little easier.

Emm...beg, cry...?

NOT in my experience, I simply showed my Thai bank my documentation (TT receipt from UK bank - originator of funds ) and voila money sent back to UK.

The Thai's are only checking to see if any skullduggery is involved with the money...

Skullduggery...Surely not in the land of smiles...

[techboy]

A "senior Thai official" says Thailand has been removed from the list. But a proposal will be made to the FATF at its June meeting for final approval to remove Thailand from the blacklist.

So, in fact, Thailand is still on the blacklist.

So which senior Thai official was telling porkies?

"Which senior official is telling porkies?" Well that's easy, all of them.

I challenge you to find one that isn't!

Nuh uhh! You said it. I challange you to prove that they all do tell porkies.

[techboy]

There now! Does'nt it make one angry when one reads all those lies about corruption and money laundering in Thailand !

None said it is all untrue. However it is rather chafing to read the vagarious denigrating commentary

[tomross46]

A "senior Thai official" says Thailand has been removed from the list. But a proposal will be made to the FATF at its June meeting for final approval to remove Thailand from the blacklist.

So, in fact, Thailand is still on the blacklist.

So which senior Thai official was telling porkies?

Just a little white lie.

[Buchholz]

We'll soon find out the truth. May's not far off.

.

,

March is even sooner.... with, what should have been the OP headline two weeks ago...

.

.

Thailand hopes to escape from FATF’s blacklist

BANGKOK, 15 March 2013 (NNT) - The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) special committee will travel to Thailand next month to check if the country’s money laundering situation has improved before pulling it out of the blacklist.

Secretary-General of the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) Police Colonel Sihanart Prayoonrat said the FATF would send specialists to Thailand from 7-8 May 2013 to prove that the country had enforced laws on anti-money laundering and dealt with its flaws in a concrete manner.

If the specialists found that the country had improvements, Thailand might be withdrawn from the FATF’s list of countries at risk of money laundering by terrorist groups.

The FATF specialists will also meet with Thai Justice Minister Police General Pracha Promnok to receive a confirmation that Thailand complies with the Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulations.

The FATF’s next plenary session is scheduled from 17-21 June 2013 in Oslo, Norway.

-- NNT 2103-03-15