BANGKOK, Feb 27 – The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has removed Thailand from the anti-money laundering and counter terrorist financing (AML/CTF) blacklist after the country has made significant progress to tackle the issues, a senior Thai official said today.
Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) secretary general Sihanart Prayoonrat said the FATF made a preliminary decision in its Feb 18-22 meeting and that a FATF specialist will make an on-site visit to Thailand in May to confirm that the country has implemented the required reforms and actions to address deficiencies previously identified by the Paris-based agency.
Should Thailand be found to have made real progress in addressing the issue, a proposal will be made to the FATF at its June meeting for final approval to remove Thailand from the blacklist.
Pol Col Sihanart said Thailand has enacted legislation to criminalise terrorist financing, establishing and implementing adequate procedures to identify and freeze terrorist assets.
Thailand has been included on the AML/CTF list since February last year.
