Thailand's AMLO seeks law to block funding for weapons of mass destruction

[webfact]

AMLO seeks law to block funding for weapons of mass destruction
THE NATION

BANGKOK: -- The Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) is pushing for a draft law to block funding for the production of mass-destruction weapons before the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) assesses Thailand early next year.

AMLO chief Pol Colonel Sihanart Prayoonrat said yesterday that FATF, an inter-governmental body, would send in a team next February to see if Thailand's financial institutes and anti-money laundering law were up to par internationally.

Hence, he said, it was necessary for Thailand to push through legislation on the prevention and suppression of financial aid toward the production of mass destruction and the sale of equipment required for manufacturing such weapons. This draft law is currently at the public-hearing stage, he said.

Thailand also needs to get tough on financial institutes and get them to adopt international measures on checking on transactions, he said.

"If we are unable to improve our standards as required by the FATF, then there's a risk that Thailand will be blacklisted as a country with high levels of money laundering again, which will seriously affect Thai financial institutions' transactions," Sihanart added.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/AMLO-seeks-law-to-block-funding-for-weapons-of-mas-30270498.html


-- The Nation 2015-10-09

[ChrisY1]

Last minute panic setting in here....they've known about this for ages and as usual, did nothing!

Just a bunch of clowns running a circus very badly.

[Srikcir]

It might be difficult for Thailand's financial institutes and anti-money laundering law to be up to par internationally when there is no government checks and balances under a system of absolute rule by the NCPO.

On paper Thailand has sufficient laws and regulations to control money launering. But you currently have a co-mingling of authority under an admitted conflict of interest throughout the three branches of government with the national police and DSI falling under the supervision of the NCPO. Effective operation of anti-money laundering may not meet FAFT's standards.

[NCC1701A]

"...three months after a dirty bomb was set off in NYC the FBI has traced the terrorists funding to major money laundering operations in Thailand."

In other news, US forces have secured every major airport in Thailand. The President said 100,000 troops would be needed..."

[Orac]

Guess i will have to step up my efforts on crowdsource funding to build my new Deathstar having found a country where, apparently, it is legal to build such things.

[elgordo38]

Does this mean they are killing the funding for those dastardly weapons of mass hysteria called submarines.

[Thai at Heart]

It's not illegal to fund a weapon of mass destruction?

[docshock13]

Interesting. So I suppose I will have to be interrogated again next time I want to send my mum $100 for her birthday "without an invoice." But KMITL staff can launder and embezzle millions of dollars over years without anyone batting an eye. I guess I just don't know the right people in the banks...a very strange and interesting place. Truly, the greatest SHOW on Earth.

Edited October 9, 2015 by docshock13

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

I was wondering... what the AGAIN reference in the quote below related to... So, I dug back and found out.

"If we are unable to improve our standards as required by the FATF, then there's a risk that Thailand will be blacklisted as a country with high levels of money laundering again, which will seriously affect Thai financial institutions' transactions," Sihanart added.

Go back about 3 years:

Thailand on money-laundering blacklist

The Nation February 17, 2012 2:49 pm |

The Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), an international money-laundering watchdog, on Thursday added Thailand, Pakistan, Indonesia, Ghana and Tanzaniato its blacklist of nations that fail to meet international standards.
...............
The body can make recommendations to any of the 36 countries that have signed a membership charter, as well as other nations, but it has no power to carry out sanctions.
..............
The FATF blacklist now includes 17 countries. Aside from the five new ones, they are: Bolivia, Cuba, Ethiopia, Iran, Kenya, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, Sao Tome and Principe, Sri Lanka, Syria and Turkey.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/business/Thailand-on-money-laundering-blacklist-30176111.html

But then that status was later changed, apparently in 2013:

FATF Status

Thailand is no longer on the FATF List of Countries that have been identified as having strategic AML deficiencies

Latest FATF Statement - 21 June 2013

The FATF welcomes Thailand’s significant progress in improving its AML/CFT regime and notes that Thailand has established the legal and regulatory framework to meet its commitments in its Action Plan regarding the strategic deficiencies that the FATF had identified in February 2010. Thailand is therefore no longer subject to FATF’s monitoring process under its on-going global AML/CFT compliance process. Thailand will work with the APG as it continues to address the full range of AML/CFT issues identified in its Mutual Evaluation Report.

http://www.knowyourcountry.com/thailand1111.html

Edited October 9, 2015 by TallGuyJohninBKK