Thailand’s central bank and its Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) are investigating whether the country’s banks have been used by Myanmar’s military to facilitate the purchase of weapons used to kill and maim civilians, the country’s foreign ministry announced.
It made the announcement after a report by Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, released in late June linked Thai banks to atrocities in Myanmar. The report, “Banking on the Death Trade,” said that Thailand had become the junta’s leading source of military supplies purchased through the international banking system.
The report said that exports of weapons and related materials to Myanmar from Thai-registered companies more than doubled from about US$60 million in fiscal year 2022 to nearly $130 million in FY2023 (ending March 2024).
In FY2023 Thai banks became the top suppliers of international financial services to Myanmar’s junta, enabling it to purchase weapons and equipment to kill and maim civilians, “Banking on the Death Trade” said.
Bank executives and government officials were summoned to a Thai parliamentary committee on national security on July 11 to discuss the UN report. Special Rapporteur Andrews joined officials from Thailand’s Foreign Ministry, Anti-Money Laundering Office and Bank of Thailand, and executives from Thai commercial banks at the meeting.
“As a result of the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on National Security yesterday [July 11], the Bank of Thailand and the Anti-Money Laundering Office will conduct further investigations,” Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on June 12.
The results of the investigation will be forwarded to the parliamentary committee within 30 days, the ministry said.
Andrews said in the report that the weapons supplied to Myanmar from companies registered in Thailand included missiles and spare parts for Mi-17 and Mi-35 attack helicopters.
The report said five Thai banks facilitated the weapons and weapons-related purchases: Siam Commercial Bank, Bangkok Bank, Kasikornbank, Krungthai Bank and TMB Thanachart Bank.
Following the release of the report, the Thai Bankers Association and major Thai banks initially issued statements saying that they strictly followed existing regulations that would prevent them from facilitating the export of weapons to the junta. They later said, however, that they lacked the capacity to investigate all translations that could be used by the junta to purchase weapons.
Thailand’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said it will also coordinate with AMLO and the Bank of Thailand in their investigation.
“The Thai government does not support the use of violence against the people of Myanmar in any shape or form, and gives the utmost importance to the promotion and protection of human rights and the well-being of the people of Myanmar,” the ministry said.
It also reiterated the call on Myanmar to comply with ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus.
