Thailand Freezes Over 10,000 Crypto Accounts in Anti–Money Laundering Crackdown Led by SEC

Thailand’s digital asset sector has frozen more than 10,000 cryptocurrency accounts suspected of being used for money laundering, as authorities and industry operators strengthen safeguards against financial fraud.

The account suspensions came after local crypto platforms introduced stricter screening procedures designed to slow down suspicious transactions and require additional identity verification for higher-risk transfers, according to reporting from the Bangkok Post on Tuesday.

Att Thongyai Asavanund, CEO of KuCoin Thailand and chairman of the Thai Digital Asset Operators Trade Association (TDO), said the enhanced monitoring systems enabled exchanges to identify and freeze thousands of suspected “mule accounts”—accounts often used by criminal networks to move illicit funds.

The move expands on earlier initiatives led by the Thailand Securities and Exchange Commission and the TDO aimed at tackling crypto-related scams and money laundering.

In February 2025, the SEC collaborated with several government agencies and financial organizations—including the Bank of Thailand, the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, the Central Investigation Bureau, the Anti-Money Laundering Office, and the Thai Bankers’ Association—to develop new strategies for detecting and shutting down mule accounts used in digital asset fraud schemes.

Those earlier efforts resulted in the freezing of 47,692 suspected mule accounts across Thailand in 2025 alone.

The TDO represents the country’s licensed digital asset service providers, including exchanges and brokerage platforms, and has played a key role in coordinating compliance efforts across the industry.

At a regulatory workshop held earlier in 2025, officials agreed to strengthen investigative guidelines for identifying suspicious activity. SEC Deputy Secretary-General Jomkwan Kongsakul said regulators and industry participants had jointly created new standards for monitoring and investigating questionable accounts.

Authorities also agreed to expand data-sharing practices between crypto platforms, banks, and law enforcement agencies, enabling faster identification of suspicious transactions and reducing the likelihood that funds can be transferred to mule accounts.

The latest enforcement push comes as Thailand ramps up a broader campaign targeting so-called “gray money,” with tighter oversight not only on digital assets but also on traditional markets such as physical gold trading.

As part of the crackdown, the government has instructed the SEC to strictly enforce the Travel Rule. The rule requires licensed crypto service providers to collect and transmit identifying information about both the sender and recipient of certain digital asset transactions—particularly when exchanges facilitate wallet-to-wallet transfers.

Officials believe the enhanced compliance measures will help close loopholes that have allowed criminal groups to exploit digital assets for laundering illicit proceeds.