Escrow Accounts in Thailand
Escrow is a powerful risk-management tool in Thailand for real-estate pre-sales, construction milestones, M&A holdbacks, project finance and cross-border trade. Thailand’s Escrow Act B.E. 2551 (2008) and subsequent regulations created a formal, licensed framework: escrow is not just a private bank arrangement — it’s a supervised activity with defined agent duties, licensing, segregation and insolvency protections. Below is a practical, legally-rooted guide explaining how escrow works in Thailand, who may act as an escrow agent, the agent’s duties and liabilities, practical contract drafting points, AML/FX and tax implications, dispute handling and a checklist you can use when negotiating an escrow. 1. Legal foundation and who may act as escrow agent The central statute is the Escrow Act B.E. 2551 (2008) , supplemented by ministerial regulations and later amendments that expanded supervisory powers. The Act confines who may perform escrow services (commercial banks and other auth...