Thailand to Bring Cryptocurrency Under Anti-Money Laundering Rules

Thailand’s anti-money laundering regulator is planning to amend the country’s laws to include cryptocurrency.

Speaking to the Bangkok Post, Police Major General Preecha Charoensahayanon, secretary-general of the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo), said he believes that, while currently not an issue, cryptocurrency “will be a tool of new money laundering.”

Preecha said that Amlo currently does not receive complaints around money laundering involving cryptocurrencies, but warned:

“We may not find any clue, but that doesn’t mean the wrongdoing does not occur.”

The secretary-general argued that criminals will increasingly turn to digital assets to conceal their ill-gotten proceeds.

To prepare for this shift, he told the Bangkok Post he plans to alter the country’s laws to bring cryptos into the AML regime, starting with the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

Preecha indicated would add a rule requiring cryptocurrency exchange platforms to report activities to…