The Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) is Thailand's "key agency responsible for enforcement of the anti-money laundering and the counterterrorism financing law." It was founded in 1999 upon the adoption of the Anti-Money Laundering Act, B.E. 2542 (1999) (AMLA). AMLO is an independent governmental agency. It has the status of a department functioning independently and neutrally under the supervision of the minister of justice, but is not part of the justice ministry. In 2016, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha ordered by the cabinet resolution change the command to under the supervision of the Prime Minister directly.
The AMLO 2016 Annual Report reported 369 AMLO positions allocated, with 49 positions vacant, plus 30 government employee positions, with two vacancies.
As of 30 September 2016, the AMLO had custody of seized and/or frozen assets valued at 6,176,029,774.12 baht. Pol Maj Gen Preecha Chareonsahayanon was named acting secretary-general.
Panama Papers
In April 2016, AMLO began investigating Thai nationals whose names surfaced in the Panama Papers.
See also
- National Anti-Corruption Commission