A message to the “hardened criminal” portion of our readership: If you’re laundering money in Thailand, now might be a good time to pull up stakes.
According to the Bangkok Post, the Anti Money Laundering Office (AMLO) is meeting with the leaders of commercial banks to discuss the details of a “cleanup day,” during which it will close the accounts of suspected money launderers conducting business through Thai financial institutions.
The country’s Anti-Money Laundering Act enters into law on January 1, at which point AMLO will have the authority to route suspected money launderers from Thai banks. Those banks that fail to comply with the new strictures risk incurring a THB500,000 fine for every suspicious account.
And there’s no dearth of questionable accounts either. AMLO has logged 54,109 suspicious bank transactions between June and November of 2012, and the organization suspects that some major banks may have as many as 2,000 to 3,000 accounts set up for the express purpose of money laundering.
Pol Col Seehanart Prayoonrat, secretary-general of AMLO, is quoted as saying that Chiang Mai province especially has an unusually high level of suspicious activity.
“There are brokers recruiting whole villages to open bank accounts continuously,” he said.
Banks are being urged to review their relationships with clients and keep a close eye on accounts where large amounts of money are being quickly transferred in or out.
