The Interior Ministry is toughening laws and regulations governing the registration of foundations and associations after some of them have been suspected of engaging in illegal activities.
Suttipong Juljarern, permanent secretary for the Interior Ministry, yesterday chaired a meeting of relevant agencies to discuss a move to revise laws and regulations regarding foundations and associations.
Speaking after the meeting, he said that foundations and associations are under the supervision of the Department of Provincial Administration (Dopa).
He said some of them were established without permission, while some are legally permitted but used for money laundering.
A check by the department found that of a total of 5,985 registered foundations, 5,221 operate legally, and the remaining 764 are suspected of being involved in illegal activities, providing grounds for the court to disband them, Mr Suttipong said.
“Dopa will have to toughen rules on the registration of foundations and associations through increasing registered capital and stepping up checks on their operations,” he said.
He added that district chiefs and officials responsible for approving their establishment would be given further training to deal with the issue.
He said that foundations and associations used for illegal activities are now posing a new kind of threat to national security.
The meeting also discussed measures to deal with online gambling as Dopa is revising related laws to increase penalties, Mr Suttipong said.
Online gambling has become a scourge to society as it is easily accessible to people of all ages, particularly children, he said.
The Interior Ministry will increase the penalties, particularly against those who provide online gambling services, he said, adding that massive amounts of money have been in circulation via online gambling businesses. Dopa will be revising the related laws.