A M L O Queries Unusually High Financial Transactions In Thai South

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SOUTH
AMLO queries unusually high financial transactions in South
Piyanut Tumnukasetchai
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- There have been some suspiciously high monetary transactions in the deep South - averaging at Bt50 billion a year - over the past three years even though the insurgency-related violence has been affecting people's livelihoods and trade.

The Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) revealed yesterday that financial transactions in Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla's four insurgency-hit districts were equivalent to those in provinces with booming trade.

The authorities suspect that many of these transactions stem from perpetrators staging terrorist attacks to get funds from terrorist organisations. AMLO plans to tackle this problem with anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism laws.

AMLO secretary-general Seehanat Prayoonrat said the restive region's financial status was quite strong with monetary transactions totalling Bt50 billion a year between 2010 and 2012, even though frequent terrorist attacks have affected trade.

Financial transactions in Yala have surpassed those in border provinces with booming trade, such as Sa Kaew, Mukdahan and Prachin Buri, he said. Transactions in Pattani surpassed those in the northern industrial hub of Lamphun, while Narathiwat's surpassed fishery hubs Ranong and Samut Songkhram, he added.

AMLO found that up to 79 per cent of the transactions in the southern border provinces were cash deposits/withdrawals of up to Bt2 million, while the remaining 21 per cent came from property trade, Seehanat said. He added that financial transactions in the South rose by about 64 per cent per year.

With finances rising despite the violence, AMLO is now wondering about the true reason behind the insurgency - whether the attacks are actually being carried out by people wanting to separate from Thailand or by people wishing to protect illegal businesses, such as drug trade, he said. Hence, he added, the agency will produce a risk-assessment report to determine how much money was being sent in to finance terrorism.

Seehanat said each attack needed money and manpower, so the perpetrators must be getting funds from somewhere. "From a financial viewpoint, each attack has a financial value, and the perpetrators are doing business by staging terrorist attacks.

They get a "salary" from terrorist organisations. Thus, we have to use the anti-money laundering law to cut off these feeding tubes, so that every time a teacher is shot dead, the perpetrators cannot withdraw money from an ATM as payment.

Their bank accounts and assets will be seized, thus forcing them to stop killing people and surrender according to Article 21 of the Internal Security Act (ISA). "If they stop killing, stop terrorist activities, we will take their names out of the blacklist, but if they relapse, we will blacklist them again, until they completely stop their terrorist activities," he said.

Amlo has also been working out how much each attack is worth - such as shooting a teacher, launching a raid on a military base, killing a high-profile person or a bombing attack - by comparing the cost of ammunition, guns, bombs, cars, motorcycles and the perpetrators' "salary", Seehanat said.

The agency believes that there is also a reward system for high-profile targets versus normal targets, he said, adding that putting a monetary value on the 4,000 deaths and 8,727 injuries, we can see the overall money spent on this "terrorism business".

Annual value of money transactions in the restive deep South in comparison to at-peace provinces:

1. Yala, ranked 45th among 77 provinces with Bt30,535,222,897, is in the same group as:

- Prachin Buri, a Cambodian-Thai border province with high international trade volume, ranked 44th with Bt31,399,383,148;

- Mukdahan, a mekong River border province with the Northeast's highest international trade volume, ranked 46th with Bt30,499,676,480;

2. Pattani is ranked 58th with Bt17,658,256,723, beating Lamphun (a northern hub for industrial estates), at 59th with Bt17,268,120,997.

3. Songkhla's four districts, ranked 60th with Bt15,095,673,402, and Narathiwat, 65th with Bt13,207,982,365, are in the same group as:

- Nong Bua Lamphu (61st with Bt14,019,750,380)

- Nakhon Phanom (62nd with Bt13,916,776,139)

- Sing Buri (63rd with Bt13,873,307,397)

- Yasothon (64th with Bt13,348,113,341)


-- The Nation 2013-04-12

[Locationthailand]

If they have known about it for three years why have they not frozen the accounts with a please explain which is how it works the world over? That could go a long way to stopping the violence if the terrorists don't have money to buy weapons or food.

[Thai at Heart]

And not a peep of where the money comes from.

Maybe they are all honest tax payers? Problem is they would probably implicate thousands of non terrorists with dodgy cash if they start digging.

[OzMick]

So if you leave school with an education heavy on religion but light on employment essentials, you have the choice of menial labour or becoming a separatist hero, with celestial bonuses should you die. How hard is it to work out a solution to that problem?

Unfortunately education of the masses is not a high priority of this government. Perhaps they could offer subsidies (aka better bribes).

[siampolee]

Hmm, interesting.

Suddenly we see the revelations concerning the large sums of money sloshing about in the south and , ''Lo and Behold,'' we see the redoubtable Chalerm suddenly departing post haste for the region.

Now taking into consideration this somewhat unusual behavior pattern by Chalerm and his oft made comments concerning business conflicts in the region one is inclined to ask or rather question why was there this sudden urge to attend to matters in the south by Chalerm who until yesterday had avoided the region with the zeal that a good Muslim would avoid a pork butchers shop or a Rabbi would avoid pork pies in the synagogue ?

Would there possibly be dividend payments to be collected on ''business transactions'' one must ask hence the amazing alacrity of Chalerms visit to the south ?

[clockman]

Any problem in Thailand always equates to greed. They being such devout Buddhists!, In name only!

[Old Man River]

Using AMLO this way is the way AMLO is supposed to work, globally. Heretofore in Thailand, it was used as a tool to run down political enemies.

[seajae]

if they stop being terrorists we will let them go but if they start killing again we will arrest them , am I the only one that finds this a bit strange. I mean if they know these people are organizing the terrorists actions why would they let them go in the first place, this is just beyond belief and very simplistic. No wonder this thing id getting worse, they are being helped by the thai govt that doesnt arrest the ring leaders it already knows about, bloody stupid.

[Baerboxer]

if they stop being terrorists we will let them go but if they start killing again we will arrest them , am I the only one that finds this a bit strange. I mean if they know these people are organizing the terrorists actions why would they let them go in the first place, this is just beyond belief and very simplistic. No wonder this thing id getting worse, they are being helped by the thai govt that doesnt arrest the ring leaders it already knows about, bloody stupid.

It has precedence on the international stage. Former IRA terrorists are now in governement in UK and Eire, the current Uruguayan president is a former terrorist, at least one past president of Israel and Cyprus were terrorist leaders. Nelson Mandela was considered a terrorist for much of his life. Once a terrorost make the transition to politician, anything is possible.

[justathought]

I suspect many of these are related to the drug trade