By
Svetlana Soroka
April 29th, 2024
Thailand agencies want more scrutiny of P2P trades to tackle the rampant cases of online fraud and related scams in the country.
Authorities in Thailand are targeting peer-to-peer (P2P) trading as part of broader efforts to tackle online fraud in the country. In a meeting, several state agencies called for regulating P2P crypto trading and digital asset purchases to protect people from financial loss.
Thailand to Prevent Scammers from Cleaning Money via P2P Trades
In attendance were representatives from several agencies, including the Defense Ministry, the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission, the Royal Thai Police, and the Bank of Thailand. Others were the Department of Special Investigation, the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC), the Thai Bankers’ Association, the Interior Ministry, the National Electronics and Computer Technology Center, and the Department of Special Investigation.
The meeting was led by the Thai Minister for Digital Economy and Society, Prasert Jantararuangthong. The participants met following a recent order from Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin. The Prime Minister gave agencies 30 days to disclose plans to crack down on growing online fraud.
According to a Bangkok Post publication, online scammers take the proceeds from their illicit activities and pass them through crypto exchanges and trading platforms via P2P trading. This helps to minimize the risk of being traced, making it difficult for authorities to find and prosecute scammers.
According to Prasert’s ministry, 80% of the 100 million baht ($2.7 million) worth of daily fraud recorded in Thailand passes through P2P channels. The ministry believes this is an easy way for fraudsters to clean the money because these fund transfers are unregulated. The Minister tasked the SEC with finding ways to regulate P2P trades to prevent money laundering.
No VAT for Crypto in Thailand
According to the SEC, there are 2 million crypto accounts held by individuals in Thailand. Current regulations focus on regulating crypto trading, especially targeting unauthorized exchanges. The new effort is to widen regulatory activities to ensure that P2P trading is scrutinized as part of current efforts. However, Prasert assures that registered platforms will not be targeted:
“The move to regulate the P2P platform would not affect cryptocurrency traders on authorized exchanges.”
The Minister plans to offer a regulation scheme to the Prime Minister if the SEC cannot modify existing regulations. In addition to P2P trading, the agencies also hope to tackle online fraud and call center scams.
Thailand is working on establishing the country as a digital asset hub. In February, the Ministry of Finance excluded crypto trading from value-added tax (VAT) requirements to encourage the use of digital assets. According to the Finance Minister’s secretary, Paopoom Rojanasakul, the vision is to support crypto adoption to drive the digital economy. The ministry waived the 7% tax earlier imposed on the crypto sector, effective January 1. Initially, for authorized crypto exchanges, the waiver now extends to all brokers and dealers under the SEC’s purview.
For regulations, the SEC and Finance Ministry are currently modifying the country’s 2019 Securities and Exchange Act. The agencies want to better regulate crypto use and investment by classifying digital investment tokens as securities.
