Thailand government has decided to accelerate efforts to crackdown on grey money rings that are moving around illegal funds through under the radar networks. Among the first steps to do so, Thailand has tightened oversight and regulatory scrutiny over transactions linked to digital assets and gold.
Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul chaired a high-level meeting with the “Connect the Dots” sub-committee last week. The agenda was to discuss the next steps forward in terms of identifying illegal money laundering operations through assets like crypto and gold that are hard to trace, local media reported.
As part of the discussions, the SEC has been directed to strictly enforce the “Travel Rule” on crypto exchanges operating within Thailand. This would mandate these platforms to identify originators and beneficiaries of P2P wallet transactions.
Stripping the layer of anonymity from crypto transactions has become crucial, the Thai government believes, in order to curb unlawful uses for crypto assets.
For gold, the PM Charnvirakul has prioritized efforts to prevent notorious actors from breaking large purchase amounts into smaller parts to dodge suspicions.
The government has asked Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) to reduce the reporting threshold for gold bar purchases from the current rate of THB 2 million ($63,530).
The Revenue Department has also been designated to work on a “Specific Business Tax” work to levy on online trading platforms that allow gold to be traded digitally.
PM Charnvirakul has called for collective efforts from government agencies to fill-in the existing loopholes in financial networks that allows perpetrators to exploit the system and facilitate unlawful activities.
The country is not against crypto. It just wishes to regulate the sector. Last year, Thailand launched an 18-month pilot that lets tourists process crypto to Thai Baht conversions for expenditure. Thailand has also introduced a five year exemption on crypto capital gains.