Thai Police Crack Down on over 500,000 Mule Accounts

mule accounts
Police General Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, Director of the Police Cyber Taskforce (PCT), announces Operation "Breaking the Criminal Bridge" during a high-level meeting with Bank of Thailand officials on January 13, 2025.

BANGKOK — In a decisive move against financial cybercrime, Thailand’s top law enforcement officials and banking regulators met to address the growing threat of “mule accounts” that have facilitated the theft of over 100 billion baht ($2.9 million) from Thai citizens since 2022.

Police General Thatchai Pitaneelaboot, Senior Inspector General and Director of the Police Cyber Taskforce (PCT), led the high-level meeting with the Bank of Thailand, announcing Operation “Breaking the Criminal Bridge” – a nationwide initiative to dismantle the financial infrastructure used by international call center scam networks, on January 13 at the Bank of Thailand.

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One of three locations where PCT 5 police raided and arrested members of a gambling website operation in Chiang Mai, owned by a Taiwanese national, on Nov. 27, 2024.

“We will no longer allow call center gangs to deceive our citizens,” declared Police General Thatchai, highlighting the operation’s alignment with Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s policy directives. “Shutting down mule accounts is a targeted, decisive action that will be carried out swiftly.”

The scale of the problem is staggering, with authorities identifying over 500,000 mule accounts currently active in Thailand. More concerning is the revelation that approximately 200,000 individuals, mostly of working age, have been recruited to open these accounts, creating an unexpected drain on the nation’s workforce.

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Bank of Thailand Deputy Governor Rung Mallikamas pledged swift action, announcing plans to work closely with the PCT to implement new policies preventing criminals from exploiting the banking system. “These measures are crucial for protecting Thai citizens from international organized crime groups,” she stated during the meeting.

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Ms. Rung Mallikamas, Deputy Governor for Financial Institutions Stability, announces plans to implement new policies preventing criminals from exploiting the banking system during a meeting with Police Cyber Taskforce (PCT) officers at the Bank of Thailand on Jan. 13, 2025.

The joint task force includes senior officials from multiple agencies, including Police Major General Attasit Sutsanguan of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, Police Major General Phongsiam Meekhantong of the Tourist Police, and Police Major General Chusak Khananit of the Anti-Money Laundering Bureau.

According to investigators, these mule accounts serve as crucial links in a sophisticated criminal operation, where stolen funds are channeled through Thailand’s financial system before being converted to cryptocurrency and moved offshore by international crime syndicates.

The initiative represents one of Thailand’s most comprehensive efforts to date in combating cybercrime and protecting its financial infrastructure from international criminal networks.

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