Law

Laos Bans Money Bouquets, Crafts Made From Kip Banknotes

Laos has banned the production, sale, and advertising of crafts made from kip banknotes, including money bouquets and decorative money trees, under a new directive issued by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce on 22 October. The directive targets products made by folding, gluing, stapling, or otherwise incorporating banknotes into...

Laos Reports COVID-Era Graft, Jails Former Official in Separate Corruption Cases

Authorities in Laos have disciplined 153 people and referred another 21 for judicial proceedings...

Laos Tightens Ban on Minors Entering Entertainment Venues

On 7 October, Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism Suanesavanh Vignaket announced tighter enforcement...

Laos Flags Millions in Misused Funds Across Public Projects

The State Inspection Authority has flagged USD 1.976 million in diverted funds and spending...

Laos Shifts Tourism Licensing Powers to Provincial, District Authorities

Laos is revising how tourism business licences are issued and enforced, dividing responsibilities among...

Lao Police Arrest Two Nationals in Cross-Border Heroin Investigation

Two Lao nationals have been arrested in Laos as part of a growing cross-border heroin trafficking investigation that began after a Thai Airways flight...

Laos Seizes More Than 110 Kilograms of Suspected Wildlife Products in Luang Prabang

Lao authorities have seized more than 110 kilograms of suspected illegal wildlife products and arrested a suspect in Luang Prabang as part of an...

Former EDL Executives, Senior Officials Get Life in Landmark Laos Corruption Cases

On 1 July, the Vientiane Capital People’s Court announced verdicts in four major corruption cases involving 17 defendants, among them former senior government officials,...

Sekong Police Raid Scam Hub, Arrest 101 Foreign Nationals

On 22 June, Sekong provincial authorities arrested 101 foreign nationals after raiding a scam hub operating telecommunications fraud and illegal entry into the country,...

Laos Restores Higher Fuel Excise Taxes as Emergency Relief Measures End

On 24 June, Laos reinstated higher excise taxes on fuel, restoring regular gasoline tax from 15 percent to 25 percent and increasing diesel tax...

Laos Intensifies Scam Crackdown, Nearly 900 Arrested Since Early June

Laos has arrested nearly 900 people linked to scam centers since 1 June, according to public data.  The latest crackdown saw 170 Chinese nationals handed...