The Thai cabinet has approved a draft amendment of the Emergency Decree on Measures for the Prevention and Suppression of Technological Crimes as proposed by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society to strengthen measures against technological crimes, particularly targeting call center scams and cyber fraud. Following the Council of State’s review, the emergency decree will be become effective immediately upon its enactment and publication in the Government Gazette. While the draft amendment is not yet publicly available, the government recently indicated that the emergency decree aims to empower authorities with decisive measures to combat cybercrime effectively. It underscores the shared responsibility among various sectors, including banking, telecommunications, and online platforms, in safeguarding against technological crimes. Key provisions of the draft amendment of the emergency decree include: Telecommunications provider obligations: Telecommunications service providers must suspend SIM cards associated with criminal activities. The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission and mobile service providers themselves are authorized to temporarily suspend mobile phone numbers if there is reasonable suspicion of involvement in criminal activities. Banking responsibilities: Financial institutions are required to promptly report mule accounts to the Anti-Money Laundering Office to facilitate quick restitution to victims. The Anti-Money Laundering Transaction Committee is empowered to order the return of funds to victims without requiring a final court ruling. Penalties for noncompliance: The amended emergency decree introduces penalties for noncompliance by regulated entities that fail to prevent criminal activities for offenses related to technology crimes in the following cases: Digital asset services: Those engaged in the buying, selling, or exchanging of digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies and digital tokens, as well as digital asset businesses that launder money obtained from online crimes by converting it into digital currency, will be subject to imprisonment for up to one year, a fine of up to THB 100,000,

On October 16, 2024, Thailand’s Anti-Corruption Cooperation Committee (ACCC) issued a notification to enhance anticorruption standards in public procurement. The new notification (officially “Notification of the Anti-Corruption Cooperation Committee on the Procurement Budget and Minimum Standards of the Policy and Directions for Anticorruption in Relation to Procurement according to Section 19 of the Public Procurement and Supplies Administration Act B.E. 2560”) supersedes previous guidelines and imposes stricter compliance requirements on business entities involved in the government procurement processes. The updates not only align with the goals of Thailand’s Public Procurement and Supplies Administration Act B.E. 2560 (2017) but also reflect the government’s resolution to mitigate corruption, particularly in high-value public contracts. The ACCC’s new notification introduces additional definitions, lowers budget thresholds for compliance, and strengthens business obligations. Key Components The new notification continues the previous guidelines’ requirement that businesses seeking to bid on government procurement projects meet the specified minimum standards—such as communicating and implementing anticorruption policies at all organizational levels, establishing a code of conduct, and providing related training programs to employees. The notification also introduces a number of changes, the most notable of which are detailed below. “Entrepreneur” definition. The definition of this term is narrowed to entities involved in the public procurement bidding process. Previously, the definition broadly applied to all business entities engaged in selling goods or services. Threshold for mandatory compliance. The project budget threshold that necessitates compliance with the minimum standards is  THB 300 million—a reduction from the previous threshold of THB 500 million. Minimum standards to prevent unfair competition. The new notification introduces a specific definition for “disturbing fair competition,” establishing clear parameters around actions that disrupt competitive fairness within public procurement. Continued compliance requirements. Businesses’ compliance with the minimum standards must now extend from the date of bid submission to the

On May 17, 2024, Thailand’s Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) issued an amended Notification Concerning the Rules for Designating or Reviewing the List of High-Risk Customers Who Require Close Monitoring under the Ministerial Regulation on Customer Due Diligence B.E. 2563 (2020). This notification, which took effect the following day, updates the previous version of the notification from 2022 to cover cybercrimes listed under the Emergency Decree on Measures for the Prevention and Suppression of Technological Crimes B.E. 2566 (2023). The amended notification sets out the steps that all financial institutions in Thailand must take to manage money laundering risks and to comply with the AMLO’s mandatory Guidelines on Customer Due Diligence. Under the new notification, account holders suspected of engaging in or facilitating technological crimes, as recorded by the Anti Online Scam Operation Center (AOC), are to be classified as “high-risk persons.” The notification includes provisions for listing high-risk customers under two specific codes: HR-03-1: This code applies to individuals who are the subject of either a petition or a complaint related to a predicate offense accepted by the relevant inquiry officer and recorded as a criminal case. It also covers individuals whose bank accounts are suspected of being used to conduct transactions related to crimes under the Emergency Decree on Measures for the Prevention and Suppression of Technological Crimes B.E. 2566 (2023), with victims seeking prosecution. The names of individuals in this category are received from responsible agencies according to the Criminal Procedure Code or the AOC and are documented in a publicly accessible online notification system. HR-03-2: This code is for individuals involved in the commission of a predicate offense or those whose bank accounts are suspected of being used in such offenses, but whose cases have not been accepted or numbered by the relevant inquiry officer. Names