Money Laundering in Plain Sight – a Case for Individual Gold Sellers
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Abstract
The Thailand Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering Act 1999 ("PSMLA") has been amended in recent years to be in line with recommendations by international organizations, predominantly, the Financial Action Task Force or FAFT. Some of the recommendations being Know Your Customer ("KYC") and Customer Due Diligence ("CDD") measures. Section 16 (2), (3), (4) and (5) of the PSMLA provide for customer identification and CDD to be carried out by non-financial businesses and professions, including reporting their customer's identity to the Anti Money Laundering Office ("AMLO"). However, these laws have left open a loophole for money laundering to take place in plain sight - as recent criminal charges made against prison inmates, who coordinated from prisons in Thailand, the laundering of money (obtained from the sale of illicit drugs) through purchasing gold at gold shops. This paper aims to: (a) Trace and deliberate on the origins of Section 16 (2), (3), (4) and (5); (b) Highlight a deficiency in Section 16 (2) through surveying the laws of four other countries i.e. Australia, Canada, Malaysia and Singapore; and (c) Propose changes to Section 16 (2) for strengthening the prevention and suppression of money laundering.
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References
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