Published: 22/02/2011 at 12:00 AM

http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/local/222833/amlo-keen-to-stem-criminal-cash-flow

Thousands of cases of suspicious transactions have built up at the Anti-Money Laundering Office as a result of a three-year delay in parliament passing laws that would allow the agency's financial transactions committee to begin its work.

The laws revolve around forcing financial institutions and government agencies to cooperate with Amlo investigators over suspicious movements of money suspected to be connected with international crime and terrorism.

With the laws still waiting to be passed, Amlo has prioritised 142 cases for examination by the committee once it becomes operational.

Acting Amlo secretary-general Seehanat Prayoonrat talks to Bangkok Post reporter KING-OUA LAOHONG about the delays.

What is most urgent for Amlo, as its suppression of call centre scammers seems to involve tackling the problem at the tail end?

If the DSI [Department of Special Investigation] does its work upstream by suppressing call centre scammers, Amlo blocks the victims' money from flowing out of financial institutions. Police can then take criminal action against the wrongdoers.

If all parties perform their duties well, the problem can be solved.

However, coordination with financial institutions is not yet complete. We must discuss cooperation with representatives of 38 financial institutions including insurance companies.

Financial institutions must comply with the amended money laundering law that requires them and workers in nine professions to report their transactions, record identity evidence of their clients, verify facts about them and record information about electronic transactions.

The new law should be promulgated within two months.

Are there any laws to deal with the financial support of terrorism?

Yes, there are. Some of them are being drafted to meet international commitments.

The first law is to suppress the provision of financial support for terrorism. It will abide by Resolutions No 1267 and 1373 of the United Nations Security Council.

The second law will halt financial transactions by terrorists identified by the United Nations. In this case, a list of those terrorists will be sent to financial institutions, which will then block their financial transactions.

Another law will deal with measures on the declaration and transport of cash across borders and the exchange of information about cash transportation between Thailand and other countries.

Has Amlo's work been stalled without the financial transaction committee?

Yes. It is because we cannot freeze any assets that are laundered or related to terrorist activities. We can examine them but cannot do anything else.

In the past three years, we have received a lot of cases. Out of about 2,000, we have shortlisted about 140 worth an estimated 600 million baht. All these cases must wait for the transaction committee to be set up.

If the committee is formed in the next few months, major cases concerning drugs, human trafficking and money laundering, especially those relating to problems in southern border provinces, can progress.

Have agencies that sought financial transaction information and analyses from Amlo reported what action they have taken in response to the input?

No. They have been silent. So Amlo must propose measures on how assets that different agencies seize should be handled. Should they be forwarded to Amlo or the public prosecutor? This must be made clear.

Since its foundation, Amlo has provided agencies with a lot of information and analyses on financial transactions, but it has not received any reports of any action taken. There should be an exact deadline for such reports to be filed. We proposed a three-month deadline. When the proposal is finalised, we will ask the cabinet to approve it.

Is there any progress on the establishment of Amlo branches at airports?

We have gained cooperation from Airports of Thailand and the Civil Aviation Department. We will have branch offices at international airports in Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai, Phuket and Hat Yai.

Officials from those offices can be deployed in their regions to seize assets and arrest suspects right away.