The Prime Minister of Thailand issued the Royal Decree on Measures for Prevention and Suppression of Technology Crimes B.E. 2566 (2023) dated 9th March 2023 (Royal Decree) and published it in the Government Gazette on 16th March 2023. It came into effect on and from 17th March 2023. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Digital Economy and Society are in charge of its enforcement.
The main objective of this Royal Decree is to prevent and suppress technology crimes such as fraud, embezzlement and theft, which cause harm or potential harm to victims in Thailand. We summarized its key provisions as follows:
1. Financial institutions and businesses involved in payment systems are required to disclose or exchange information about customer accounts and transactions through a system or process approved by the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES), the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC), the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), and the Bank of Thailand (BOT).
2. Telecommunication service providers and related service providers must also disclose or exchange service-related information through a system or process approved by the MDES and the NBTC. The competent officers have the power to order telecommunication service providers or other related service providers to disclose relevant information when there is reasonable suspicion of a technology crime and a need to know the user registration information or computer traffic data.
3. Financial institutions or business operators must temporarily suspend a transaction and notify the next recipient institution or operator if they suspect or receive information that a deposit account or electronic money account is being used or may be used in transactions related to technology crimes, predicate offenses, or money laundering.
4. In cases where a victim, who is an account holder of a deposit or electronic money account, notifies financial institutions or business operators that a transaction has occurred through the account and is related to a technology crime, they must inform all financial institutions and business operators involved in the transfer and immediately suspend the transaction while notifying the victim to file a complaint with the investigation officer within 72 hours.
5. Anyone who allows another person use their deposit account, electronic card, or electronic money account without the intention of using it for their own purposes or related business, or allows another person to use or borrow their mobile phone number for service knowing or should know that it will be used in a technology-related crime or other criminal offense can be subject to imprisonment penalties.
