BANGKOK: Thailand’s Deputy Finance Minister resigned on Wednesday (Oct 22) following allegations linking him to Cambodia-based cyberscam centres.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul ordered Vorapak Tanyawong, a veteran financier who took office just last month, to submit a written explanation this week over the accusations.
Vorapak came under scrutiny after a report this week tied him to an alleged foreign fraudster linked to cross-border scam operations in Cambodia.
The Whale Hunting newsletter alleged that Vorapak’s wife was paid US$3 million in cryptocurrency this year by Chinese-Cambodian criminal networks that he was tasked to investigate as part of a government committee.
The newsletter has also reported that Vorapak was once listed as an adviser to BIC Bank, a Cambodian bank linked to an alleged money-laundering network.
Vorapak denied any involvement in illicit activities on Wednesday, telling reporters he was quitting to focus on his legal defence.
“To fight this legal battle, I need time and I am afraid it will interfere with my main role at the Ministry of Finance,” he told a news conference.
Vorapak spent most of his career in the private financial sector before entering politics last year as an adviser to the then-finance minister.
He previously held senior roles at the Thai branches of top global banks including Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase.
Corruption allegations are not uncommon in Thailand, where close ties between business and politics often blur lines.
But scandals linking Thai officials with the multibillion-dollar scam industry, which has ballooned in Southeast Asia in recent years, have been rare.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asia/thai-deputy-finance-minister-vorapak-tanyawong-resigns-alleged-cambodia-scam-centre-links-5417821
