The Deputy Minister of Digital Economy is ready to allow investigation into all projects after the opposition submitted a petition to the Office of the Auditor General to examine the TH-AI Passport program. She rejected allegations of inflated registration numbers, emphasizing that every user must register with a digital ID.
On 22 Sep 2026 GMT+7 at the Government House, Ms. Nan Boonthida Somchai, Deputy Minister of Digital Economy and Society (DE), addressed the case where Ms. Kandi Liaopairoj, List MP and Deputy Leader of the Democrat Party, submitted a letter to the Office of the Auditor General requesting an investigation into the facts and transparency of the TH-AI Passport project. Ms. Nan affirmed that they are ready to allow investigations into all projects but insisted that such inquiries must be based on facts, not imagination.
She gave an example regarding the opposition’s mention of the moral agreement, stating that this matter should be studied according to procedure. According to the process, if a project’s budget exceeds 1 billion baht, the agency must submit the case to the Comptroller General’s Department for a selection committee to decide which projects require entering into a moral agreement. The Comptroller General’s Department then responded that the TH-AI Passport project does not meet the criteria requiring such an agreement. Therefore, before criticizing, one should review the procedures first. She reiterated their willingness to allow inspections, but only those grounded in facts, not imagination.
Regarding allegations of inflated registration numbers, Ms. Nan described this as a very serious accusation and expressed no surprise if legal action is taken. She acknowledged that if sued, the accusers might claim it is an attempt to silence criticism. Before responding, she believes it is necessary to review the data to determine the truthfulness of the claims.
Ms. Nan further stated that the most important point is that registration requires the use of a digital ID, specifically the ThaiD system of the Department of Provincial Administration or government applications from the Digital Government Development Agency (DGA), to verify registrations. Thus, claims of inflated numbers are unfounded without clear evidence and should not be made lightly to cause harm, as that is inappropriate.
Regarding questions about unclear active user figures, Ms. Nan advised checking the project’s official website and other social media channels where the Ministry regularly updates information. They separate the numbers into registered users and active users. She also noted that if registrations were indeed inflated, the number of registered users would already have reached 5 million.
On why the TH-AI Passport project does not meet the criteria for a moral agreement, Ms. Nan explained that the Comptroller General’s Department sent a letter back in December last year stating the project was not selected. However, the department did not specify the reasons, and this information can be disclosed to the public.