Has your organization been effectively in compliance with the money laundering laws?

Have you strengthened your internal control on AML or not ?.

The Anti-Money Laundering Act, B.E. 2542 and its amendments, not only being the law that has the strength to deal with assets of criminals or offenders in 29 predicate offences, but also being the law that imposes obligations on business operators, both financial institutions and ten business groups to establish certain measures on self-identification of customer, risk management on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing within the organization, customer due diligence (CDD), risk management of products and services, as well as measure on "internal control" within the organization.

The Ministerial Regulation on Customer Due Diligence B.E. 2563 (2020), Article 49, paragraph 2, requires financial institutions and professions under section 16 to have an "independent internal audit mechanism" on the anti-money laundering within the organization. Also the Notification of the Anti-Money Laundering Office on prescribing and implementing policies and procedures on internal control of financial institutions and professions under section 16, B.E. 2564 (2021) requires them to have a department, staff, or external auditors responsible for internal audits being independent from the practice and work performance on anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism and proliferation of weapon of mass destruction and its financing within the organization in order to examine the implementation and compliance with the laws on Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing. To achieve the independence in auditing, we hereby would like to offer the service of internal control (audit) on AML/CFT/PF * for your organization by preparing a "report of internal control result (auditing) on AML/CFT/PF presenting to the management of your organization in order to comply with such AMLOs Notification.

AML/CFT/PF: Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Proliferation Financing

The following are 29 predicate offences:

1. Narcotics
2. Human/woman and child trafficking
3. Public cheating and fraud
4. Misappropriation committed by manager
5. Malfeasance in office
6. Extortion or blackmail
7. Smuggling under customs law
8. Terrorism
9. Gambling
10. Election
11. Being a member of racketeering group or participating in an organized criminal group
12. Participating in an international organized criminal group
13. Receiving stolen property with a nature of business conduct
14. Counterfeiting or alteration of currencies with a nature of business conduct
15. Offence relating to trading and intellectual property
16. Offense relating to forging a document of right, electronic cards or passports with a nature of regular or business conduct
17. Unlawful use, holding, or possessing of natural resources with a nature of business conduct
18. Murder or grievous bodily injury which leads to the acquisition of assets
19. Restraining or confining a person under Penal Code only where it is to demand for benefits
20. Theft, misappropriation, fraud, robbery, or gang-robbery with a nature of regular conduct
21. Piracy
22. Unfair securities trading practice
23. Offence relating to arms
24. Financial support to terrorism
25. Support the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
26. Tax evasion
27. Incentivize to apply for /withdraw from applying for senator
28. Forced labour or service and causes severe harm or death
29. Incentivize the voters to vote for or refrain from voting for election candidate

Source: AMLO website

OUTSOURCING AML/CTPF INTERNAL CONTROL


Operated by a team of experts in Anti-money Laundering Law

Operational Procedures


Step 1: Assignment of a Coordinator for Internal Control (Audit) on AML/CTF/FP

Hold a meeting with the company's working group and the audit team to designate the personnel who will be responsible for coordinating the matters. These personnel will be the person receiving list of documents that the auditor requests in order to examine compliance with the law, such as:

• Anti-Money Laundering Policy (AML Policy)
• Money Laundering Risk Management Policy
• Annual Money Laundering Risk Assessment Report
• Customer Acceptance Policy
• Product and Service Risk Assessment Policy
• Customer Due Diligence (CDD) Policy
• Transaction Reports
• Suspicious Transaction Fact-Finding Report
• Training Program for Employees and Executives in the Past Year
• Internal Control (Audit) Report on Compliance with Money Laundering Laws in the Past Year, etc.



Step 2: Auditors Conduct Document Review (Offsite)

Upon receipt of documents related to legal compliance, the audit team will review all documents against compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) and the Counter-Terrorism and Proliferation of Weapon of Mass Destruction Financing Act (CTPF Act)

The audit team will conduct the audit in accordance with the Audit Program, which is based on the Anti-Money Laundering Act B.E. 2542 (AMLA) and its amendment, the Counter-Terrorism and Proliferation of Weapon of Mass Destruction Financing Act B.E. 2559 (2016) (CTPF Act) and its amendment, relevant Ministerial Regulations, rules, AMLO Committee Notification, and AMLO Notifications.

Upon completion of the review, the audit team will report the preliminary document audit results and coordinate with the company's working group to inform the plan to inspect the compliance with the law at the company's premises/offices. In this step, the audit team will request an appointment and coordinate the following actions:

• Date and time to enter the site for inspecting the business/office
• Section/division/department that the audit team will inspect
• Preparation of data and documents to be inspected
• Determination of inspection issues, inquiries and requests for information
• Determination of personnel of the section/ division/ department who will be representatives in providing information and answering questions


Step 3: Onsite Inspection of Compliance

The audit team will inspect the Companys compliance with the AMLA and the CTPF Act at the Companys premises or office where personnel, documents, and information are collected. The inspection team will proceed as follows:

Appointment is made for onsite inspection whereas the Company will designate personnel responsible for work related to compliance with the AMLA and the CTPF Act in the following sections (at least):

• Business Unit or Front Line Section
• Compliance Unit or Second Line Section
• Customer Data Collection Unit
• Electronic System Unit (IT) in case the Company uses software to process risks and customer transactions


When inspecting each department, the audit team will inquire about facts, work details, work procedures, and relevant information, referring to the policies or procedures/practices that the department is responsible for or follows, including referring to the provisions of the AMLA and CTPF Act related to that department.

In the audit of the performance of each department, the audit team may request additional information, statistics, document samples, and work systems in addition to the documents received in the first and second steps to ensure that the department being audited has truly performed its work in accordance with the policies, practices, or laws.

When the audit is complete according to the Audit Program, the audit team will collect, analyze, and prepare a report on the results of internal control (audit).

Step 4: Preparation of Internal Control Report (Audit)

Upon completely obtaining of the information, facts, and additional documents obtained from the Offsite and Onsite audits, the audit team will prepare an internal audit report on compliance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act, and Counter-Terrorism and Proliferation of Weapon of Mass Destruction Financing Act. The internal control report (audit) will consist of:

1. Results of the policy and related document audit in the offsite audit process
2. Results of the policy and related document audit in the offsite audit process
3. Findings of deficiencies in compliance with the AMLA, and CTPF Act (if any)
4. Inadequate compliance with the laws (if any)
5. Recommendations for compliance with the AMLA, and the CTPF Act.
6. Plans that should be implemented in the following year to develop or improve the organization so that it can comply withthe Anti-Money Laundering Act and the Anti-Corruption Commission Act most effectively.


Step 5: Meeting to present the results of internal control (audit) to relevant persons

After submitting the internal control (audit) report to the company, the audit team will schedule a meeting with the organization's senior executives, relevant personnel in the departments/divisions/sections related to compliance with the AMLA, and the CTPF Act including the working group in this project, in order to present the internal audit report, which will allow the executives to acknowledge and understand the necessity to act in accordance with the internal audit results. Also, this to allow personnel in the relevant departments/divisions/ sections to ask questions or request advice on how to act according to the internal audit report effectively.

Results

1. The Company fully and effectively complies with the laws on Anti-Money Laundering, and Counter-Terrorism and Proliferation of Weapon of Mass Destruction Financing.
   
2. The Company holds a report on the results of internal control (audit) on the Anti-Money Laundering, and Counter-Terrorism and Proliferation of Weapon of Mass Destruction Financing in accordance with the Notifications of the Anti-Money Laundering Office on the determination and implementation of policies and procedures on internal control of financial institutions and professionals under Section 16 B.E. 2564.
   
3. The Company will set a plan to review and improve internal control policies and procedures that are appropriate for the organization's risks and business model for the following year.