Thai Prime Minister asks Deputy Finance Minister to explain scam link allegation

BANGKOK - Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said he has asked Deputy Finance Minister Vorapak Tanyawong for a written response to allegations that he is linked to South-east Asian scam networks.

Mr Anutin also said Mr Vorapak had not been named to lead the country’s anti-scam committee, as Thailand and other nations widen efforts to stop online scams spreading across the region.

“There’s no such appointment,” Mr Anutin told reporters on Oct 21, responding to a question on whether Mr Vorapak had any role in the anti-scam committee.

“His name isn’t on the list – never was, never will be. I’m the chairman. Financial matters fall under (Finance Minister) Ekniti and investigations are led by the Justice Ministry.”

Mr Vorapak’s name was linked to the anti-scam committee after Finance Minister Ekniti Nitithanprapas told reporters earlier in October that Mr Vorapak would lead a task force to follow the money trail left by scam centres across South-east Asia.

Mr Vorapak has also denied allegations published in Project Brazen’s Whale Hunting newsletter that said his wife was paid US$3 million (S$3.89 million) in cryptocurrency, citing corporate filings in Singapore. 

Thailand faces a growing challenge in curbing the illegal industrial-scale scam operations being run out of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar.

Many are located near those nations’ Thai and Chinese borders. Criminal gangs have been forcing trafficked victims to lure people on social media and dating applications.

In October alone,

dozens of South Koreans

allegedly working for scammers were repatriated from Cambodia.

In Myanmar, the country’s junta raided a multiple-building compound, detaining more than 2,000 workers and seizing Starlink receivers and accessories.

The Bangkok Post on Oct 19 reported the Thai government had denied allegations that South Korea had identified seven Thai politicians as connected to scam centres in Cambodia. 

The UN said earlier in 2025 that cybercrime syndicates are still expanding, due to illicit online marketplaces using cryptocurrencies. It also noted the shift from land-based internet connections to the use of Starlink.

The Finance Ministry’s task force is “designed to find links between gray money flows and online scams, using financial network and identity data”, according to Dr Ekniti, who said the goal is to complete all necessary coordination and groundwork by December.

The so-called Connect the Dots group would be collaborating with the anti-scam committee and key agencies including the Bank of Thailand, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Anti-Money Laundering Office, Dr Ekniti said.

Mr Anutin was also asked on Oct 21 if his

weeks-old government

could be undermined if multiple Cabinet members were linked to scam networks. “If anyone is found guilty, the law will take care of them,” he said. BLOOMBERG