The Bangkok Post reports that a draft of an anti-money laundering law that is hoped to remove Thailand from the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) "gray list" may not be enacted by the next FATF meeting in February.  According to the Bangkok Post: "The impact of staying on the list is that investors will find it more difficult to make financial transactions with foreign countries and will pay higher fees for financial activities."  The article goes on to say:

The FATF already downgraded Thailand to its "grey list" this past February "for failing to implement laws to curb financial misconduct". An industry source said no agencies are willing to submit the names of those likely to be involved in money laundering since most of them are politicians.

Thailand is currently on the FATF's list of "high risk and non-cooperative nations."  The FATF report on Thailand says, among other things, that: "Thailand has not made sufficient progress in implementing its action plan."  The word implementation appears several times in the report on Thailand, strongly suggesting that the FATF believes this is not just an issue of enacting legislation, but also one of actually enforcing anti-money laundering legislation. 

More information can be found on Thai and foreign anti-corruption laws (e.g. the FCPA) relevant to Thailand by clicking here.  For more information on Thailand's listing with the FATF and efforts to remove itself from FATF's gray list, please go to the achieves part of the Anti-Corruption Laws section of our website, which can be accessed by clicking here.