At the Election Commission meeting, a resolution was made to send the Deputy Secretary for Investigation to request information on unusual cash withdrawals near the 2026 election period from the Bank of Thailand tomorrow (30 Jan). There are plans to establish a memorandum of understanding for continuous data sharing.
At 16:00 on 29 January 2026 GMT+7 Mr. Saweang Boonmee, Secretary-General of the Election Commission (EC) revealed that he proposed the issue of large unusual cash withdrawals for the EC meeting to consider, noting the news reports about a significant number of abnormal cash withdrawals specifically withdrawals in 500 or 100 baht banknotes during the election period, raising reasonable suspicion that the money might be withdrawn for activities violating election or political party laws.
For the purpose of exercising its duties and authority to ensure elections are conducted honestly, fairly, and legally, the EC requested, under Section 32 of the Organic Act on the Election Commission, to summon documents from the Bank of Thailand (BoT) to support its operations and authority. The EC agreed with the proposal, and the EC Office will assign the Deputy Secretary for Investigation to personally collect information from the Bank of Thailand tomorrow (30 January 2026).
Additionally, the EC has a policy to establish a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Bank of Thailand to request such information continuously without needing to send separate requests each time, to perform its duties and authority to ensure elections are honest and fair. The EC Office has been tasked to proceed with the related matters.