Thailand Plans To Amend the AML Act, Sees Crypto As Threat

The Anti-Money Laundering Office of Thailand (AMLO) believes that bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies pose a serious threat: the agency has prioritized paying attention to the search and detection of illicitly obtained fiat funds converted into crypto assets, the Bangkok Post reports.

According to the report, Pol Maj Gen PREECHA has declared that DLT-based virtual currencies present a solid threat to AMLO because criminals often take advantage of the privacy-centric and pseudonymous nature of digital currencies to conduct illicit financial activities including money laundering. The official promised to intensify efforts in identifying and ceasing money laundering operations.

Pol Maj Gen PREECHA intends to amend the Anti-Money Laundering Act to include a section that requires the country's cryptocurrency exchanges to report customer transactions to AMLO. As per AMLO, data of customers registered on exchanges is a piece of valuable information that will allow authorities to detect currency conversion and track the movement of suspicious funds.

According to the Secretary-General, the need to monitor customer activity is in line with international standards for exchanges that require exchanges to track customer behaviour and report suspicious transactions to the relevant authorities.

Image courtesy of Crypto Disrupt