Regulatory authorities are taking proactive measures to block mule accounts associated with legal entities, with the number of blocked accounts expected to rise by more than 1,000 in the near future.
According to Pol Lt Gen Trairong Phiwpan, commissioner of the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau, following the enforcement of the amended Cybersecurity Act, the number of individual mule accounts has significantly declined. However, fraudulent activities are now shifting to corporate mule accounts.
In response, regulatory organisations are working together to strengthen measures against financial fraud.
According to data from the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo), about 700,000 individuals are listed in the HR-03 category, signifying high risk of money laundering. Among this group, more than 1,000 are suspected of transitioning to corporate mule accounts.
Certain behaviours suggest potential corporate mule account activity, including using the same name for multiple corporate registrations, having registered capital of 1 million baht or less, and operating for less than one year since the company was registered.
Data indicates scammers employ 100,000-150,000 nominees to open corporate mule accounts. If funds are transferred to deposit accounts and then immediately moved to cryptocurrency accounts, it can be assumed these are corporate mule accounts, according to Amlo.
Six regulatory agencies jointly announced yesterday a proactive approach to addressing the growing threat of corporate mule accounts: Amlo, the Business Development Department, the Anti-Online Scam Operation Center, the Central Investigation Bureau, the Cyber Crime Investigation Bureau and the Bank of Thailand.
HR-03 data is information that is shared among regulatory bodies, while the government sector can provide this information to the private sector, particularly financial institutions, to help prevent financial fraud.
Auramon Supthaweethum, director-general of the Business Development Department, said the department uses HR-03 data to screen newly established companies registered with it. The department has identified 1,043 registrants appearing on the same HR-03 list, and it shared this data with relevant regulatory agencies to help prevent fraudulent activities.
"For these cases, we have requested registrants verify their identity. A significant number have failed to do so, resulting in the suspension of their companies' registration process," said Ms Auramon.
Roong Mallikamas, deputy governor for financial institutions stability at the central bank, said as of January 2025, the regulator identified 1.92 million individual mule accounts linked to around 140,000 depositors. Of these, 700,000 accounts belonging to 70,000 depositors were classified as black (high-risk) mule accounts, she said.
"Banks have blocked financial transactions across all risk levels, including brown, grey and black mule accounts," said Ms Roong.