Expanded money-laundering law to cover more offencesThe cabinet has approved a draft amendment to the Money Laundering Act to cover more offences including pornography, tax dodging and loan sharking, deputy government spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said yesterday. The proposal, submitted by the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo), was to rectify the law to ensure it stays in line with international standards on fighting money-laundering and the financing of terrorism, after a suggestion by the Financial Action Task Force. The definition of a "predicate offence" will be rectified to cover the child pornography trade, tax evasion, document forgery, the digital asset trade, bid rigging and loan sharks. A new provision will be added to cover identity fraud in transactions including where corrupt operators conceal their own identity in the act of defrauding customers. An annual budget summary must be provided and Amlo will be able to stop suspicious transactions when it comes across them.
