Thailand to amend cybercrime laws to protect crypto traders

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Thailand is considering changing its cybercrime laws to protect crypto traders, according to a report by local news outlet Bangkok Post. According to the report, the government is expected to amend two emergency decrees related to the prevention and suppression of cybercrime.

The report specifically noted that the timeline to amend the emergency decrees has been moved up, with the law set to be looked into before the Songkran festival.

According to the Digital Economy and Society Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong, the draft amendments of the two decrees are expected to be presented before the cabinet on April 8 before being sent to the Council of State for scrutiny. He added that the decrees are expected to be in effect before the Songkran festival.

Thailand wants shared responsibilities during scams

According to Prasert, the highlight of the amended 2023 emergency decree on measures to prevent and suppress cybercrime is the shared responsibilities during scams. He noted that during periods of cybercrime that result in losses for victims, financial institutions and telecom operators will share greater accountability. This means that in such a case, most of the blame will be accorded to banks and telecom operators.

He added that the amended 2018 emergency decree overseeing digital assets and cryptocurrency transactions complements the cybercrime suppression scheme. In addition, cybercrime suppression will be overseen by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Finance Ministry.

“The government should meet with banks and telecom operators because there are still issues that need to be understood by these firms,” Prasert said.

The amended cybercrime law also contains a clause that addresses issuing refunds to victims of scams. The clause mentions that if the damages can be proven, then the funds will be refunded to the victims without the need to go to court. Prasert added that the Anti-Money Laundering Office will be in charge of issuing guidelines for these refunds, noting that objections to any of the refund prices must first be sent to the court and cleared before it is allowed to happen.

Cybercrime law expected to have limited impact

According to reports, after the amended laws are phased, they must first be publicized in the Royal Gazette before they go into effect. Meanwhile, Thailand brokerage house Krungsri Securities has mentioned earlier that it expects the amended cybercrime prevention and suppression law to have limited impacts on banks and telecom operators in Thailand. This means that the impacted firms have a greater responsibility to maintain their systems to prevent crimes.

The Thailand brokerage house noted that the only way they can be seriously impacted is if it is proven, in the case of a crime or scam, that their systems were not properly maintained or up to date to tackle such crimes. This is because the new amendment now puts the greatest share of the responsibilities in their hands while noting that it includes greater penalties for the perpetrators of the crime. Krungsri also added that its conversations with most financial institutions and telecom firms in the country show that they have the needed measures in place to tackle fraud or scams.

Thailand has been making strides in the crypto sector this year, with the country announcing the launch of its distributed ledger technology-based trading system. The SEC noted that due to the rising popularity of investment in digital assets, it wants to use the technology to help securities companies to capitalize on their investor networks. In terms of regulations, the country also issued a directive against OKX for operating without a license.

The SEC submitted the complaint against OKX operator Aux Cayes FinTech Co. Ltd and nine associates. “The OKX activities are liable to be an operation of digital asset exchange business under Section 3 of the Emergency Decree, for which OKX has not obtained a license, in violation of Section 26, and subject to offenses and penalties under Section 66 of the Emergency Decree,” the SEC said.

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