Bank of Thailand outlines process to unlock mule accounts

Thansettakij•Economy•16h ago

Reader Briefing

The Bank of Thailand has established a tiered system for unlocking suspended mule accounts to balance fraud prevention with the rights of honest citizens.

•The Bank of Thailand (BOT) categorized suspended accounts into four risk levels: black mule, dark grey mule, light grey mule, and dark brown mule.
•The process for unlocking accounts varies by risk level, requiring coordination with banks, the AMLO, or the CCIB.
•Damage from scams where victims transferred money themselves decreased from 8,590 million baht in Q2/2024 to 1,810 million baht in Q2/2026.

Overview

•The Bank of Thailand clarified that account suspension is a preventive measure and does not constitute a final judgment of guilt.
•High-risk accounts (Black Mules) verified by police as involved in wrongdoing must request unlocking from the AMLO and the CCIB.
•Accounts where victims have not yet filed reports (Dark Grey Mules) must be unlocked individually through the relevant banks.
•Accounts flagged by banks for suspicious behavior without reported victims (Light Grey Mules) must be unlocked through the detecting bank.
•The Bank of Thailand may require Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) if evidence of transaction sources is insufficient to prevent fraudulent accounts from returning to the system.
•Joint measures by the Bank of Thailand and other agencies reduced transfer-based scam losses by approximately 6,780 million baht between Q2/2024 and Q2/2026.
•Sakkapop Panyanukul stated that the mule account management is a collaboration between the Bank of Thailand, financial institutions, AMLO, and the Royal Thai Police.

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Key Entities

Organization

Bank of Thailand(ธนาคารแห่งประเทศไทย)ℹ️

The central bank that established guidelines for suspending and unlocking mule accounts.

AMLO(สำนักงาน ปปง.)ℹ️

The Anti-Money Laundering Office responsible for unlocking high-risk mule accounts.

CCIB(สอท.)

The Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau responsible for unlocking high-risk mule accounts.

Royal Thai Police(สำนักงานตำรวจแห่งชาติ)ℹ️

A collaborating agency in the measures to prevent and block the financial paths of scammers.

Person

Sakkapop Panyanukul(สักกะภพ พันธ์ยานุกูล)

Assistant Governor of the Bank of Thailand, overseeing payment systems and financial consumer services.