Laos and Thailand hold talks on money laundering linked to scam centres
Seminar delegates discussed urgent asset freezes, mule accounts and cryptocurrency misuse as Laos aims to complete anti-money-laundering measures by January 2027.
- Officials from Laos and Thailand, along with international partners, held a seminar to strengthen cooperation against money laundering linked to scam centers.
- Key strategies discussed included methods for urgent asset freezes, transaction tracing, and disrupting the use of mule accounts.
- The talks addressed the challenges posed by the increasing use of digital technologies and cryptocurrencies by criminal networks to launder illicit funds.
- Delegates also examined legal and regulatory options for cross-border asset recovery and strengthening anti-money laundering (AML) frameworks to meet international standards.
Urgent asset freezes, transaction tracing and ways to disrupt mule accounts were on the agenda at a seminar in Laos on Monday (September 21, 2026).
The talks formed part of closer cooperation with Thailand and international partners against the laundering of proceeds associated with scam centres and other transnational crime.
The Lao newspaper Pasaxon reported that the seminar’s theme was “Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering Linked to Scam Centres”.
Lao government agencies took part alongside representatives of the Royal Thai Embassy in Vientiane, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and international organisations.
They considered how to strengthen cooperation against financial crimes tied to scam operations.
Growing concern in the Lower Mekong sub-region focuses on transnational networks involved in scam centres and illegal online gambling.
Participants examined how the increasing use of mule accounts, digital technologies and cryptocurrencies facilitates fraud, the laundering of illicit proceeds and other offences.
Delegates examined legal and regulatory options for freezing assets without delay, recovering them and cooperating across borders.
They also looked at emerging scam-centre operations, wider regional trends and stronger anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) systems, alongside ways to prevent the misuse of cryptocurrencies and unregulated over-the-counter brokers.
Laos has made combating online scams a national priority.
It is working to strengthen its AML/CFT framework in line with a Financial Action Task Force (FATF) action plan and aims to complete the measures by January 2027.
Source: The Star
