Thailand Deputy Finance Minister Under Fire for $3M Hidden Crypto Holdings
Thailands Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered Deputy Finance Minister Vorapak Tanyawong to sort out in writing the mess...
Quick overview
- Thailand's Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has instructed Deputy Finance Minister Vorapak Tanyawong to clarify allegations linking him to cross-border scam networks.
- Vorapak's wife is alleged to have received $3 million in cryptocurrency tied to a fugitive, raising concerns about his involvement in financial misconduct.
- The Thai government is launching a task force called 'Connect the Dots' to track illicit cash flows, but Vorapak's alleged connections may undermine its credibility.
- Anutin emphasized his commitment to combating scams, warning that any guilty parties will face legal consequences.
Thailands Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has ordered Deputy Finance Minister Vorapak Tanyawong to sort out in writing the mess he’s getting himself into over reports claiming a link to cross border scam networks. In a press conference in Bangkok on Tuesday, Anutin said Vorapak has got to “clear the air” and explain the allegations linking him to a regional financial operation that’s being accused of money laundering.
Anutin dismissed the rumour that Vorapak was set to be the head of the country’s anti-scam committee. “Don’t be daft, there’s no such job, his name was never even on the list, and it never will be” he said, stressing that the finance goon squad and the Justice Department are still firmly in charge of financial oversight.
[Breaking] Deputy Finance Minister Vorapak Tanyawong has resigned amid allegations linking him to scam center operations in Thailand and Cambodia.#Thailand #วรภัคธันยาวงษ์ #ScamCenters #แก๊งคอลเซ็นเตอร์ #แก๊งสแกมเมอร์ pic.twitter.com/UwrkmwpiGA
— Thai Enquirer (@ThaiEnquirer) October 22, 2025
Allegations of Scammy Crypto Payments
This whole controversy started with a newsletter from Project Brazen’s Whale Hunting which made some pretty serious claims – Vorapak’s wife had allegedly received $3 million in cryptocurrency that was linked to South African fugitive Benjamin Mauerberger and some dodgy financial operations in the Mekong region.
Corporate records in Singapore seem to suggest that these payments may have come from all sorts of shady online scams in the region. Vorapak has outright denied any involvement.
Cabinet Scrutiny Really Cranks Up
This whole thing has put the spotlight right on the Thai government, Anutin being quite clear in his comments that he is trying to hang his administration out to dry from any perception of internal conflict within the Finance Department.
Just yesterday Finance Minister Ekniti said Vorapak would be helping to get the ball rolling on this joint task force to identify where all the illicit cash flowing through the region is coming from. It’s called the “Connect the Dots” program and involves the Bank of Thailand, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) all working on it together.
The program aims to be completed by mid December 2025 and they want to focus in on where the illicit cash is coming and going – whether that’s in the form of dodgy remittances, identity theft or trying to track down where the crypto was all coming from.
- Task force completion deadline: December 2025
- Task force targets: tracking down illicit cash and remittances, dealing with identity theft, and trying to follow the trail of crypto
But just as this was all starting to look like a major effort to take down some of these scammers – Vorapak’s alleged links to some of the scum in the region have started causing a lot of concern about whether this whole task force is going to be any good.
Scam Operations Just Keep On Getting Bigger
Thailand’s got some major challenges right now, but this is just part of a much bigger problem in the region – there are gangs operating out of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar that are making a killing from online scams and even human trafficking.
Recently the junta in Myanmar arrested over 2,000 workers in a raid on a scam compound – and you can imagine just how much trouble these scum were getting into when they were found with Starlink equipment to mask their digital trail.
Thailand’s deputy finance minister, Julapun Amornvivat, is under pressure to clarify his connections to alleged scam networks.
Lawmakers are demanding answers about potential links, raising urgent questions about trust and accountability.
What happens next? pic.twitter.com/hg9PStlVnm
— Cryptopolitan (@CPOfficialtx) October 22, 2025
The UN has been warning that these gangs are getting bigger and more sophisticated all the time – they’re using crypto and satellite internet to try and stay one step ahead of the law.
Anutin kept reiterating that he’s fully committed to catching the scum and putting them behind bars:
“If anyone is found guilty, the law will sort out the rest.”
With a key figure in this fight against scams now under the spotlight – Thailand’s anti-scam campaign is in real danger of losing all credibility – and that could have serious implications for how much faith the public has in the government, and how much confidence foreign investors have in the country.
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