THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
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Exim Bank denies hand in suspicious financial transactions

Exim Bank denies hand in suspicious financial transactions

The Export-Import Bank of Thailand (Exim Thailand) issued a statement on Tuesday (September 22) dismissing the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ)’s allegation of suspicious transactions.

The bank said it has strictly complied with rules and regulations put in place to fight money laundering.

ICIJ published a report on Sunday based on leaked suspicious activity reports submitted to the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN).

The investigation was led by 108 international media outlets from 88 different countries.

In Thailand, the ICIJ found 92 transactions involving four Thai banks, comprising US$9.6 million in receipt and $31.75 million in remittance between 2000 and 2017, which were flagged as suspicious.

The four Thai banks named in the report are Bangkok Bank, Kasikornbank and state-owned Krungthai Bank and Export-Import Bank of Thailand.

The data related to Thai banks represents only a small fraction of the more than $2 trillion worth of transactions found in the FinCEN files, ICIJ said.

The report also provided information about US-based correspondent banks that facilitate transactions in US dollars in more than 150 countries.

The records include more than 2,100 suspicious activity reports filed by nearly 90 financial institutions to FinCEN.

The transactions do not necessarily establish any criminal conduct or other wrongdoings. The data offers an overview of how money flagged as suspicious, and in some cases linked to corruption, fraud, sanctions evasion or other crimes, flows around the globe via networks of correspondent banks, according to the ICIJ.

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