Thailand says no evidence of bank transactions for Myanmar weapons

BANGKOK (Reuters) - Thailand's central bank and anti-money laundering agency said on Monday that they have not found any evidence to support a report from a U.N. expert that some of the country's banks were used to help Myanmar's junta acquire weapons.

The report from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in June said companies registered in Thailand had used Thai banks to transfer funds for weapons and related military materials for Myanmar worth $120 million in the 2023 fiscal year, compared with $60 million the year before.

The government set up a task force in July to review past transactions and due-diligence capabilities after Thai banks said they lacked the capacity to investigate all transactions that could be used for weapons purchases by Myanmar's military.

"The investigation found that some financial institutions did conduct transactions with individuals listed in the OHCHR report, but no evidence was found linking these transactions to arms procurement," the Bank of Thailand and the Anti-Money Laundering Office said in a joint statement.

The joint statement said the review found that Thai financial institutions had "varying levels of rigor in their operations" which highlighted the need to improve certain anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism practices.

"This would enable financial institutions to better manage the risks of being used as channels for funding illegal activities and human rights violations, which may manifest in new forms," the agencies said.

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by John Mair)