Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office has released new guidelines on customer due diligence (CDD) for insurance companies to outline anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing measures based on the Anti-Money Laundering Act B.E. 2542 (1999). The previous guidelines were revoked and replaced by these guidelines. The guidelines include seven key measures: Anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing policy: Insurance companies must establish a policy in Thai that outlines the organization’s approach to assessing, managing, and mitigating risks related to money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation. Risk management framework: Insurance companies’ frameworks for risk management are to be divided into three stages: (1) internal risk management, (2) risk assessment before customer onboarding, and (3) ongoing customer risk management. CDD before engagement with customers: Insurance companies must implement a rigorous approval process to verify customers’ identities. Customer information review and transaction monitoring: Insurance companies must update customer information and the list of banned transactions to ensure compliance with current risk profiles. Enhanced CDD for high-risk clients: Insurance companies must apply a stricter level of verification and monitoring measures for high-risk clients, including reviews of financial transactions. Third-party reliance and subsidiary controls: Reliance on third parties is allowed only in processes for customer identification and verification of identity. Internal controls and policies for subsidiaries or affiliates must be updated regularly. Suspicious transaction reporting: Insurance companies must report any suspicious transactions, particularly whenever CDD is not available. For more details on the CDD guidelines, or on any aspect of insurance and anti-money laundering regulations in Thailand, please contact Athistha (Nop) Chitranukroh at [email protected], Witchupong Chittchang at [email protected], Ajaree Trachukul at [email protected], or Sireethorn Wijan at [email protected].

On October 1, 2024, the Thai cabinet acknowledged the recommendations proposed by the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) to prevent corruption related to online gambling. The Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) has been assigned as the lead agency to collaborate with various relevant agencies to reach a consensus on the necessary amendments and updates to laws related to online gambling. In assigning the MDES this role, the cabinet emphasized the importance of the following key items: Establishment of a national committee. The national committee will be chaired by a minister and will comprise relevant agencies, including policymaking bodies, technology agencies, frequency management agencies, law enforcement agencies, and other experts. The committee’s primary responsibility will be to consider amending and updating laws related to online gambling. Urgent action on online gambling. As online gambling has been deemed a serious issue requiring urgent action, joint policies will be developed among relevant agencies such as the Royal Thai Police, the Bank of Thailand, and the Anti-Money Laundering Office to elevate the importance of online gambling issues. Public awareness and law enforcement. Public awareness campaigns are to be conducted to educate the public about the risks and legal consequences of online gambling, and laws against online gambling and related financial crimes are to be strictly enforced. Compliance with the Cybersecurity Act. It is necessary to ensure strict compliance with the Cybersecurity Act B.E. 2562 (2019). At the same time, government data systems are to be moved to cloud computing for enhanced data security. Next Steps The MDES is tasked with summarizing the results of the related discussions, actions taken, and overall opinions and submitting the summary to the cabinet secretariat for further presentation to the cabinet. These measures aim to address and mitigate the risks associated with online gambling and related corruption.

Thailand’s Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) issued guidelines for managing advertisements on digital platform services (DPSs) earlier this year. These guidelines aim to prevent fraud, illegal product or service offerings, and inducements to commit illegal acts, and are likely to provide a basis for greater regulation of this issue in the future. Key obligations for DPS business operators under the guidelines are detailed below. Advertiser Screening and Data Collection Verification and collection: Business operators must establish processes for verifying and collecting advertiser data. This includes steps, methods, and required information for advertiser registration. Identity verification: Business operators should follow identity verification requirements for advertiser registration. This may include using identity verification results from other identity providers or conducting their own identity verification processes with a minimum identity assurance level (IAL) of IAL2. Data storage: Advertiser data must be stored in a machine-readable format. Business operators must maintain records for watchlists, blacklists, and whitelists. Prepublication Advertisement Review Review process: Business operators should review advertisements before publication. This review should consider factors such as prohibited or restricted advertisements, required permissions, and avoiding sensitive user data. Postpublication Monitoring Advertisement monitoring: Business operators must monitor published advertisements using automated systems, staff, or contracted personnel. Criteria for prioritizing reviews should be established. Reporting channels: Business operators must provide channels for users to report illegal or inappropriate advertisements. Reports must be promptly addressed, prioritizing cases involving intellectual property owners or multiple credible reports. Advertiser account monitoring: Business operators must monitor advertiser accounts. This includes considering factors such as the number of reports/flags received and compliance with service agreements and community standards. For more information on this initiative from the ETDA, or on any aspect related to Thailand’s regulations for DPSs, please contact Athistha (Nop) Chitranukroh at [email protected], Thammapas Chanpanich at [email protected], Pornpan Wichawut at [email protected],

Thailand’s Office of Insurance Commission (OIC) has issued orders announcing the premium rates for insureds who purchase insurance policies directly from life and non-life insurance companies. The orders, which were issued on September 2, 2024, allow insurance companies to set lower premium rates for insureds who purchase insurance policies directly from them, compared to those approved earlier by the OIC. Under the orders, both life and non-life insurance companies selling insurance policies directly to insureds may set the premium rate below the premium rate earlier approved by the OIC, but the discount may not exceed: 30% of the insurance premium for all types of insurance policies; and 35% of the insurance premium for insurance policies that utilize innovation or are sold through electronic channels. Here, “insurance policies that utilize innovation” means insurance policies that are currently being tested or have successfully met the objectives of the Insurance Regulatory Sandbox or the Product Innovation and Tailor-Made Sandbox, as approved by the OIC. The insurance companies may set the above two premium rates under the following conditions: The insurance contract must be entered into between September 1, 2024, and November 15, 2024; and The coverage start date of the insurance policy must not be later than December 31, 2024. For more details on the OIC’s orders regarding premium rates for insureds who purchase insurance policies directly from life and non-life insurance companies, or on any issue concerning insurance regulations in Thailand, please contact Athistha (Nop) Chitranukroh at [email protected], Witchupong Chittchang at [email protected], Ajaree Trachukul at [email protected], or Sireethorn Wijan at [email protected].