On September 14, an urgent meeting was held to discuss the enforcement of measures for the temporary suspension and subsequent unblocking of bank accounts potentially linked to criminal “mule accounts.” This follows the enactment of The Executive Decree on Anti-Technology Crime Measures (No. 2), B.E. 2568 (2025), in collaboration with the Bank of Thailand (BOT), the Thai Bankers’ Association, the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), and the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau (CCIB).
Following the meeting, Mr. Wisit Wisitsora-at, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Digital Economy and Society (MDES) and chair of the meeting, revealed that public concern had increased over the temporary suspension of bank accounts as an immediate measure to track and block funds in “mule accounts” used by scammers. These measures aim to follow the financial trail, recover online crime proceeds, and return the funds to victims, as established under Sections 6 and 7 of the newly enacted Decree. Banks are therefore required to temporarily suspend financial transactions.
However, Mr. Wisit clarified that only the specific amount transferred out from the suspicious account will be “temporarily suspended,” not the entire account. The account holder can continue with their regular banking transactions. In contrast, a complete account freeze falls under police jurisdiction, enforced under the Criminal Procedure Code, and requires an official asset seizure warrant.
The meeting considered mechanisms for revoking temporary suspensions. Per the Decree, the Technology Crime Prevention and Suppression Center (TCPSC), also known as Center AOC 1441, is empowered to unlock and restore access to funds in accounts of innocent citizens affected by the suspension. Expedited reviews of these accounts have commenced, with processes streamlined through collaboration between TCPSC, BOT, commercial banks, and police investigators.
Account verification procedures focus on:
1) Tracing the financial flows and analyzing transaction patterns to determine if they align with normal activity.
2) Checking if the account holder appears on the freeze lists of AMLO or the police.
“Currently, TCPSC or Center AOC is expediting the review of all temporarily suspended bank accounts and has already unlocked a number of accounts found to belong to innocent, unrelated individuals,” Mr. Wisit confirmed. “Any citizen whose account has been affected but is not involved in illegal activity may contact AOC Center via 1441 press 2 to initiate the process to lift the suspension and reinstate their account rights.”
Once TCPSC orders a suspension to be lifted, the relevant bank will inform the account owner; AOC Center’s role is solely to receive claims and process data, and will not contact account holders directly to prevent impersonation by criminals.
These anti-crime measures have been in place for some time, forming a core strategy to disrupt the financial networks of online criminals and to mitigate harm to the public.
A digital transfer via mobile application to settle payment between buyers and merchants at food stalls and small shops has been made to best suit the digital transformation in Thailand. However, the public is now raising concerns over account suspension, especially all shopkeepers and merchants, leading to a good number of shops now temporarily suspending the digital transfer method in fear of receiving any kind of payment, even a legit transaction, from mule accounts.
