Conferences: Banks warned not to confuse two Bangkok events.

Heavy marketing by conference company Foulds Ingham is being countered by a private letter circulated to bankers in South East Asia warning them not to become confused between the commercial event being run in Bangkok in February 2003 and the intergovernmental conference being organised in March by Thailand's Anti Money Laundering Office.

The letter, a copy of which has been seen by World Money Laundering Report, does not warn bankers against the Foulds Ingham event but merely points out that the Pacific Rim International Conference on Money Laundering and Financial Crimes is organised by a government body which regional governments support. The Foulds Ingham event costs USD2,000 conference but the later event, which is open to all, costs only USD600 less early bird discounts. Each lasts three days. Both are follow up events. Foulds Ingham ran a similar event in Moscow in December 2002. The first Pacific Rim International Conference on Money Laundering and Financial Crimes was held in Vancouver in October 2000. The event, at which World Money Laundering Report produced a special edition during the conference and delivered it to delegates before they left, attracted nearly 1000 government officers and leaders of financial services businesses.

The heavy use of regulator and enforcement agency speakers at the Pacific Rim event will provide a rare opportunity for delegates to learn how agencies around the Pacific Rim are planning future development and enforcement.

The Foulds Ingham event has other competition, too. Heads of government and their senior teams, including home ministries and treasury departments, for most of the countries around the region will attend the Non-Aligned Movement summit in Kuala Lumpur between 20-25th February 2002. This immediately predates the Foulds Ingham event on the 26th-28th February.

The Pacific Rim event has competition, too: its dates (24-26th March) are immediately predated by the three day Malaysian Grand Prix meeting which will fit in with the plans of many visitors. But it overlaps with the dates of the Hong Kong Sevens, historically, the ASEAN must-go equivalent of Ascot and the Boat Race rolled into one.

The respective websites are at

(Non-Aligned Movement) http://www.mfa.gov.my/

(Pacific Rim event) http://www.fincrime2003.org

(Foulds Ingham event) http://www.moneylaundering2003.com

(Hong Kong Sevens) http://www.hksevens.com.hk/

(Malaysian Grand Prix) http://www.malaysiangp.com.my/

Where will we be?

Non Aligned Movement, Malaysian Grand Prix, Pacific Rim event.