The Bank of Thailand announced its support for the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society's submission to the Cabinet of the "Emergency Decree on Prevention and Suppression of Technology Crimes (Draft)".
On this basis, the Bank of Thailand is developing an assessment mechanism for the responsibilities that banks and financial institutions should bear in cases of technological crimes.
With the rampant technological crimes, the financial losses suffered by the Thai public due to scams such as fraudulent calls have reached an average of 60 to 70 million Thai Baht per day, and even climbed to 100 to 120 million Thai Baht per day before preventive measures were taken.
Despite this, the current 2023 version of the bill has several loopholes and has not effectively implemented the relevant responsibilities and punishment mechanisms, especially in handling "mule accounts" on P2P platforms, victim refund mechanisms, and related accountability.
Therefore, revising the relevant laws and taking emergency measures has become an urgent priority.
The key contents of this bill revision include:
Strengthening government oversight of P2P platforms, and severely cracking down on accounts involved in criminal activities;
Requiring telecommunications operators to immediately deactivate SIM cards related to criminal activities;
Compelling banks to quickly submit information on "mule accounts" to the Anti-Money Laundering Office to expedite the return of victims' funds;
Establishing penalty mechanisms for P2P platforms and banks that do not strictly audit accounts;
Increasing penalties for leaking personal information;
Clarifying that financial institutions, telecommunications networks, and social media platforms share joint responsibility for losses caused by technological crimes.
The Deputy Governor of the Bank of Thailand, who is also in charge of financial institutions regulation, stated that the Bank of Thailand fully supports the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society's decision to revise the law and is closely cooperating with various departments to refine the details to enhance its role in preventing and combating technological crimes.
The revised law clearly stipulates that service providers are responsible for losses caused by failure to meet regulatory requirements. This clause has become a policy focus of the Bank of Thailand, which is currently in close consultation with the government and private institutions to promote the implementation of related measures.
The Bank of Thailand expects to announce a detailed responsibility assessment mechanism soon, clarifying the scope of responsibility of financial institutions and other service providers in losses caused by technological crimes. This move will further promote Thailand's substantial progress in combating technological crimes such as telecommunications fraud, ensuring the security of the people's property.
