Financial Intelligence Units and the prevention of money laundering : a comparative analysis of Financial Intelligence Units in the United Kingdom, Singapore and Thailand

This thesis examines the implementation of the international Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards regarding the role of Financial Intelligence Units (FIU) under the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations. The main research questions focus on 'What is the AML policy relating to the roles of the Thailand FIU?'; 'How effective has Thailand's FIU been in implementing the FATF standards?'; 'What additional strategies should Thailand implement to counter money laundering?'; as well as 'What are the lessons that Thailand should learn lessons from the UK and Singapore?' The aim of this examination is to determine whether the current role of Thailand FIU is 'appropriate' for the international AML standards. The thesis considers the extent to which the AML policies on the FIUs are implemented in the United Kingdom and Singapore to determine if any meaningful suggestions could be adopted in Thailand. For the purpose of this thesis, the term 'appropriate' is defined as meaning that the AML legislation should support the FIU in operating its functions independently, and abled to apply to the FATF standards. Using doctrinal, socio-legal and comparative law research methods, the thesis responds to criticisms that the level of independence of the Thailand FIU is 'ambiguous', the rationale being that certain provisions relevant to its FIU in regard to sufficient operational independence from the government. The most serious criticism is that the Anti-Money Laundering Board (AMLB) is able to hold and use significant influence over the Transaction Committee, the Secretary-General and the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) pursuant to section 25(3) of the Anti-Money Laundering Act 1999 (AMLA) that may undermine the AMLO's functions. The thesis argues that the role is inappropriate and it effects the independence of the Thailand FIU. The approach used to address this issue are the adaptation of the administrative-FIU model into Thailand's FIU; as well as the implementation of soft law (i.e. FATF Recommendations, best practices and industry guidelines). The thesis concludes that the AMLA 1999 is inconsistent with the FATF Recommendation 29.