An inspection of donated money transferred to the insurgency-plagued deep South has so far found nothing suspicious, the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) said.
Attacks like last month's twin bombs in Betong of Yala province cost money and men, but authorities remain stumped on who is behind the financing of the insurgent gangs. (Reuters photo)
Speaking about financial transactions in the three southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat over the past three years, Amlo secretary-general Seehanat Prayoonrat said Tuesday cash transactions are substantial in the region due to the private investments and state money funnelled to tackle the unrest.
"As for the money donated to private organisations, foundations or charity groups, which was feared to be used in violence, the Amlo has kept a close watch on it and so far we found nothing suspicious," Pol Col Seehanat said.
Most of the cash transactions were found to have been carried out through financial institutes, he said.
Pol Col Seehanat said money from overseas may not come to the deep South directly, but could be put in other areas before being funnelled to the region.
The total amount of cash transactions in Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat dropped to an average of 40 billion baht last year, down from 44 billion baht in 2013 and 51 billion baht in 2012,
the Amlo said.
Observers say that despite the continued security flare-ups in the far South, the transactions have not fallen by much.
Amlo has added about 4,000 names of suspects in the deep South to its blacklist to suppress financial support for terrorism.
Any financial institution that agrees to handle transactions for people on the blacklist will be liable to an immediate fine of one million baht, Mr Seehanat said.
Also, the managers of such institutions would face criminal charges, and possible sentences of between five and 10 years of imprisonment, for complicity in security
violations.
The move was intended to convince the Financial Action Task Force to remove Thailand from its list of countries likely to face international financial sanctions for failing to crack down on these types of crimes. Pol Col Seehanat said the Amlo is checking money transactions of
the suspects.