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The Thai government has targeted more than 65,000 online crime cases and frozen 916,000 mule accounts, according to new figures from the Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DES).
The figures, reviewed during the fifth meeting of the Technology Crime Suppression Committee, showed that as of June 30, 2025, authorities had reported 65,841 arrests in technology-related crime cases, including 27,711 linked to online gambling.
A further 7,455 cases involved mule accounts or SIM cards used to facilitate criminal activity.
Efforts to remove illegal online content led to the blocking of 115,907 URLs, nearly 63,000 of which were linked to online gambling.
In parallel, platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, X and TikTok were asked to block 50,565 fraudulent URLs.
Of these, 37,919 were removed through emergency procedures without court orders, according to the government.
In a broader push to cut off criminal money flows, financial institutions and crypto-asset operators, working with agencies such as the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), suspended or froze over 916,000 mule accounts.
This figure includes around 29,000 crypto-asset accounts, collectively holding approximately THB186m ($5.7m), which were suspended in June and July alone.
Greater coordination, stronger action
The crackdown follows the enforcement of two key laws, the Royal Decree on Measures to Prevent and Suppress Technology Crime (No. 2) B.E. 2568 and the Royal Decree on Digital Asset Business (No. 2) B.E. 2568, which both entered into force on April 13 this year.
The decrees empower Thai authorities to coordinate more closely across sectors and pursue stronger action against cyber-enabled fraud, scams and financial crime.
The Ministry of DES and related agencies are also advancing plans to compensate victims of technology crime.
A new draft ministerial regulation, being prepared by AMLO, outlines mechanisms to return seized funds to victims after final court rulings.
These include provisions for crypto-asset refunds, civil petition rights and the creation of a database to track reimbursement cases.
Crime powered by technology
The governmental meeting also addressed the growing misuse of SIM cards registered under false or foreign identities.
On June 30, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) approved new measures requiring telecoms operators to assume partial liability for damage caused by such abuse, under the amended 2023 Technology Crime Decree.
Secondary legislation is already taking effect. Notable updates include standards from the Electronic Transactions Commission (ETC) for preventing technology crime, and new procedures for removing illegal computer data, particularly in cases involving unlicensed crypto-asset activity.
A tough new approach
Thailand’s assertive crackdown on online crime is being driven by a combination of new legislative powers and growing political urgency – a trend also seen in jurisdictions such as Singapore, the UK and the EU.
A key catalyst for this latest intervention is likely the executive decree issued in April 2025, which significantly expanded the scope of regulated entities and strengthened enforcement tools.
The decree redefined “business operators” to include e-money issuers and digital asset service providers. It requires them to screen transactions, suspend suspect accounts and share information with authorities, meaning that they are now on par with commercial banks.
It also extended refund and blacklisting mechanisms to these sectors and introduced penalties for individuals who allow their accounts, including e-wallets and crypto wallets, to be used as “mule accounts”.
This move marked a strategic shift away from fragmented enforcement toward a more systemic, cross-sector response based on the principle of ‘same risk, same rules’.
As a result, previously underregulated intermediaries are now expected to take active roles in fraud prevention and accountability.
The latest press release shows that these legislative changes have already yielded measurable results, including mass account suspensions and the removal of tens of thousands of fraudulent URLs.
The scale and coordination of these efforts suggest that the government is responding not only to regulatory reform, but also to mounting public concern over online scams.
Complementing these efforts are the Bank of Thailand’s draft guidelines on mobile payment and financial app security.
These proposals reflect a growing recognition that cybercrime poses systemic risks to Thailand’s increasingly digitised financial system.
The July meeting of the Technology Crime Suppression Committee, and the scale of activity it reported, reveals how these structural shifts are being translated into coordinated, measurable action by the government.
