People working in Phuket’s property industry, particularly real estate brokers, were briefed this week by an expert from the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) on how to avoid falling foul of Thailand’s money-laundering laws.
Sunpet Sangnetswang, Director of AMLO’s Supervision and Examination Division, opened up a frightening vista for brokers and warned them that they must be much more aware of the possibility of money laundering.
He explained that AMLO has access to sophisticated computer systems that can track people laundering money, along with their relatives and associates. It has the power to seize assets not only from the money launderers themselves but also from their families and associates.
He warned his audience: “The Money Laundering Suppression Act has great implications for you [in the property industry]. Please be careful.”
He gave an example of how assets can be seized. AMLO officers went to seize assets from a man convicted of making money from narcotics. They discovered he had spent some of his ill-gotten gains on buying four crocodiles for breeding.
“When we got to his farm in Nakhon Pathom we found hundreds of crocodiles. We could not tell which were the four bought with his drug money.” But this did not matter, he said; all the animals were offspring of the four crocs and were therefore the proceeds of laundering. AMLO seized the entire farm.
Another of the successful cases involved a Russian marijuana dealer who had a Thai wife and had bought three homes on Thai golf courses, in his wife’s name. The houses were seized.
He noted, too, that since the May 22 coup “our policy has become much more serious”.
“Property brokers may not actually be laundering money themselves but they may be used [by criminals] as tools to launder money.” If brokers fail to provide information about buyers, they can be fined up to B500,000. If they provide false information, they can go to jail for up to two years.
“Laundering has been an international financial problem for a long time. Plus, Thailand is perceived to be one of the the top five places in the world for money laundering.” AMLO, he said, had started to make a dent in this perception last year.
He said that typical criminal businesses that required money laundering services include prostitution and human trafficking, weapons, supporting terrorism, intellectual property piracy, counterfeiting currency, passports or other documents, receiving stolen goods, and “Ang Yi”(Triad gang) activities. All such activities are watched by AMLO.
After thoroughly alarming his audience he offered some advice. “Let’s say someone wants to buy expensive land using your services. Let’s say he runs a junk shop.
“How does a junk shop owner make that kind of money?
“Please be more careful about the clients who come to buy property through you.
“You should talk and ask your client for some information. Even if it’s a matter of one baht, if you think something is suspicious, contact me. You can do this through our website or privately by letter. We are obliged by law not to reveal any details of our sources to anyone.
“However, if you are suspicious and you do not inform us, then you could be in trouble.”
He warned the brokers that there were limits on how much commission they could receive without reporting to AMLO. For example, any cash payment of more than B2 million must be reported.
“You are also obliged to obtain basic information about buyers, such as name, address, ID card or passport number. You must keep this information for five years.
“If you have any information which you think is suspicious please inform AMLO and we will take it from there. You will not have any problem.”
The AMLO website address is amlo.go.th
This story was first published by The Phuket News and is republished as part of an editiorial partnership between DDproperty.com and The Phuket News.
