In February 2012, the intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force (FATF) added Thailand to its “grey list” of countries due to its failure to take adequate steps against money laundering and terrorist financing by not enforcing its existing anti-money laundering laws.   

Thailand has since attempted to address the FATF's concerns in order to be removed from the “grey list”, most recently by passing two bills amending Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Act and Anti-Terrorism Act.  The FATF has recognized Thailand's efforts at its 22 February meeting in Paris and identifying them in the FATF document "Global AML/CFT Compliance: On-going Process", stating that "Thailand has made significant progress to improve its AML/CFT regime, including by enacting legislation to adequately criminalise terrorist financing, establishing and implementing adequate procedures to identify and freeze terrorist assets, and further strengthening AML/CFT supervision"

Pol Col Sihanart said a team of FATF experts would visit Thailand in May in order to check on enforcement procedures and ensure that Thailand has issued ministerial regulations and put in place methods to enforce the two laws.  If Thailand is deemed to have fully met the requirements, the FATF experts would recommend that the FATF remove Thailand from its “grey list” at its meeting in June, he added, according to the Bangkok Post.

last updated 28 February 2013