Anutin to chair ‘Connect the Dots’ meeting on Friday

Caretaker Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul will chair a meeting on Friday of a subcommittee tasked with tracing money-laundering transactions, where agencies will exchange online data to create a virtual “Data Bureau”, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas said.

The “Connect the Dots” panel will meet at the Finance Ministry at 10.30am on Friday, with Anutin chairing the session, Ekniti said.

Agencies to link databases to track money laundering

Ekniti said the current system for tracking money-laundering transactions is fragmented, likening it to “blind men trying to describe an elephant” based only on touch.

He said while commercial banks can monitor financial transactions and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) can scrutinise share trading, authorities still lack an effective way to track transactions involving alternative assets.

Gold and off-market crypto flagged as key blind spots

“The key blind spot is when money is converted into gold or off-market cryptocurrency. This creates a major gap that criminals exploit to launder funds, and the current system still can’t keep up,” Ekniti said.

‘Data Bureau’ to be built via Open API, not a new agency

Ekniti said the panel will be briefed on progress in setting up the “Data Bureau”, stressing it would not be a new agency that requires a lengthy legal process.

Instead, agencies will be asked to adopt a common Open Application Programming Interface (API) standard to link their online databases.

He said the Open API would connect data from key monitoring bodies such as the Bank of Thailand, the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) and the SEC, enabling more effective tracking of suspected money-laundering routes.

“The idea is that each agency retains its existing powers, duties and laws, but uses Open API technology to pull and connect data, so we can see a complete jigsaw picture of the full financial trail,” he said.

Gold regulation and tax structure may be discussed

Ekniti said gold is among the assets requiring urgent scrutiny of liquidity and money flows, including the possible creation of a dedicated regulator.

He added that issues such as the tax structure for gold and the specific business tax could be discussed in principle to improve transparency in the system.