What To Know
- In a major move to tighten financial regulation, the Department of Business Development (DBD) has teamed up with the Royal Thai Police to target money laundering via shell corporations and mule accounts.
- To up surveillance, the DBD is building a system dubbed iBas that monitors corporate digital footprints—tracking changes in directors, shareholders, or registered addresses in near real time.
Bangkok Business News: DBD and Police Launch Crackdown on Suspicious Companies
In a major move to tighten financial regulation, the Department of Business Development (DBD) has teamed up with the Royal Thai Police to target money laundering via shell corporations and mule accounts. Auramon Supthaweethum, Director-General of the DBD, announced that signs of illicit activity—such as false addresses, frequent changes of directors, and shares held by high-risk individuals—are being investigated more aggressively than ever. This Bangkok Business News report reveals that efforts are being piloted with fresh data, stricter digital surveillance, and public verification tools to ensure transparency.
Authorities intensify crackdown on shell companies linked to money laundering in Thailand
Image Credit: AI-Generated
High-Risk Individuals Identified and Cross-Checked
The initiative stems from cooperation with the Anti Online Scam Operation Centre (AOC), which has supplied the DBD with a list of 94,161 individuals considered high-risk for money laundering. These names are being cross-referenced against current registries to see if any serve as directors, shareholders, or executives of registered companies. So far, 1,415 companies have been flagged for having suspicious links and are under closer monitoring. The AOC will receive the list back for further investigation of potential scams and threats to public welfare.
New System iBas to Track Company Changes in Real Time
To up surveillance, the DBD is building a system dubbed iBas that monitors corporate digital footprints—tracking changes in directors, shareholders, or registered addresses in near real time. Alongside this, the public can now use an online service to verify a company’s registered address. About 20,000 people have already conducted checks. Inspections uncovered 41 companies that provided false or inaccurate addresses, leading to legal action for breaching registration rules.
Increased Accountability and Transparency
Auramon vowed the DBD will collaborate fully with all relevant agencies to prevent misuse of companies and mule accounts in scams or laundering schemes. The agency hopes that enhanced coordination and new tools will deter practices like hiding real ownership, proxy shareholding, or misrepresentation.
Taking into account these developments, it is clear that Thailand’s regulatory authorities are stepping up efforts to safeguard the corporate sector. With thousands of high-risk individuals under scrutiny, over a thousand firms flagged, and a public verification system in operation, the landscape is shifting toward higher accountability. These measures are not only about catching wrongdoers but also about restoring public trust in business registrations and registrations transparency.
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