The Royal Thai Police are advancing the crackdown on the entire mule account network after finding criminals still use them as a key "money laundering" mechanism. They have also expedited suppression of online gambling during the World Cup, arresting over 4,500 sites.
On 22 Jul 2026 GMT+7, Pol. Gen. Thana Chuwong, Deputy Commissioner-General of the Royal Thai Police and Director of the Technology Crime Suppression Center (Deputy Commissioner/Director of TCSC), revealed that yesterday the 10th/2569 meeting of the Technology Crime Suppression Center was held. The meeting included Pol. Lt. Gen. Jiraphop Phuridet, Assistant Commissioner-General and Deputy Director of TCSC; Pol. Lt. Gen. Trairong Piwpan, Deputy Inspector General and Deputy Director of TCSC; and representatives from relevant agencies nationwide. It took place at the Royal Thai Police Operations Center and via an online conference.
The online case situation in July 2026 GMT+7 showed that "fraudulent purchase of goods and services" cases remained the highest proportion and caused the greatest financial damage. "Impersonation fraud" cases also sustained high damage values, indicating persistent problems concentrated in similar patterns. Bank account transfers were identified as the number one channel in both case numbers and damage value, accounting for over 65.4% of the total. This confirms criminals still rely heavily on "mule accounts" in commercial banks as the main mechanism for money laundering and asset transfer, necessitating intensified and upgraded crackdowns on the entire mule account network.
Pol. Gen. Thana expressed gratitude and praise to the Provincial Police Region 2 for investigating and arresting suspects who facilitated opening bank accounts for Chinese suspects, which were later used as mule accounts for call center gangs. This was a decisive effort to uproot the mule account network linking foreign brokers and financial institution staff, causing severe harm to the public and Thailand's economy. The sentencing in this case serves as a landmark precedent in combating technology crime and money laundering in Thailand.
Regarding statistics on online gambling and illegal online platform arrests from 1 Oct 2025 to 19 Jul 2026, there were 1,441 online gambling arrests, 787 illegal online platform arrests, and 3,106 online firearm arrests. A total of 3,131 suspects were apprehended; 4,088 firearms, 242,808 rounds of ammunition, 162 explosive devices, and 877 other items were seized.
During the World Cup crackdown from 6 Jun to 19 Jul 2026, authorities arrested 4,576 websites, 617 bookmakers, and 8,181 online gamblers, with a massive turnover exceeding 20,463 million baht. Furthermore, in July 2026, 137 online gambling sites with system turnover over 10 million baht were shut down, involving 325 suspects and total turnover of 10,750 million baht. Additionally, 557,924 URLs were blocked.
Moreover, the Royal Thai Police and the Bank of Thailand have collaborated to suppress and sever online gambling financial circuits and are preparing to establish the "AOGC Online Gambling Suppression Center" with smart detection capabilities.
Pol. Gen. Thana has accelerated the crackdown and blocking of online gambling websites, as well as investigation and arrest of illegal firearm sales and advertisements via online platforms. Beyond website arrests, investigations target influencers or celebrities who advertise, promote, or create content encouraging online gambling, extending efforts to those who hire them. This group has easy access to society and the public with large followings.