Bangkok: "Woraphat" is ready for a full investigation and insists he has never been involved with scam centers. Worapak Thanyawong posted a message confirming he never participated in scam centers, is ready for a full investigation, and is in the process of coordinating and submitting evidence to US agencies. Meanwhile, the opposition is urging the government to expedite the investigation.
According to Thai News Agency, Mr. Worapak Thanyawong, former Deputy Minister of Finance, posted about news reports mentioning his name in a letter from the chairman of a certain House of Representatives committee to the US Department of State and the US Department of the Treasury. He clarified that the letter requested US government agencies to investigate and determine whether individuals on the list met the legal criteria for sanctions, and was not an investigation or a finding of guilt, nor did it mean he had been sanctioned by the US. Mr. Worapak affirmed that he had never been involved in, supported, or had any knowledge of scam centers, money laundering, human trafficking, cybercrime, or any transnational crime as alleged. He also revealed that he had officially contacted the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the US Department of the Treasury to request a channel for submitting facts and evidence to the US agencies for consideration, and is sending letters to the chairmen of both committees t o request an opportunity to clarify the facts and obtain relevant information in order to answer any questions directly.
Mr. Worapak also stated that he is ready to fully cooperate with the investigation and believes that the best way to respond to such serious allegations is through facts, evidence, and verifiable processes. Regarding some of the allegations previously published, he has chosen to use the judicial process to prove the facts, having filed defamation lawsuits against those who published them. Currently, one case has been accepted by the court, and another has completed the preliminary hearing and is awaiting a court ruling. He declined to speculate on whether his name appearing in a US document is related to the allegations pending in Thailand, but stated that his next action will be to use facts, evidence, and verifiable processes to clarify the matter to both the Thai courts and US authorities. He declined to disclose or comment on details of some of the allegations currently under consideration by the Thai courts at this time to avoid jeopardizing the judicial process, and will provide updates when appropriate .
Previously, opposition MPs had submitted a request to the government to investigate the matter. Mr. Korn Chatikavanij, a list-based MP and deputy leader of the Democrat Party, stated that while being named in the letter does not constitute a verdict or sanctions, it is a formal investigation process that Thailand must prioritize. He noted that Thai agencies already possess sufficient information on the business structure, financial transactions, shareholders, and beneficiaries to begin the investigation, and therefore, Thailand should not wait for foreign entities to expose the matter first. Previously, the Committee on Finance, Fiscal Affairs, Financial Institutions, and Financial Markets sent a letter with supporting documents to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 13th requesting an expedited investigation, but to date, there has been no clear explanation or progress made public.
Mr. Korn also stated that he had discussed this issue several times with Ekniti Nitithanpraphas, the Minister of Finance and the supervisor of the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand). He argued that the delayed investigations would allow foreign entities to trace the financial trail and impose their own measures, posing a risk to the country's legal sovereignty, the credibility of the Thai capital market, and the rule of law.
The Global Magnitsky Act is a comprehensive law that punishes serious human rights abuses and corruption, with a scope of penalties including those who instigate, finance, use front companies, and those who protect or benefit from the network.
If an individual or entity is found to meet the criteria and is placed on a blacklist, it will result in the freezing of their assets in the United States, prohibiting them from conducting transactions with American citizens and companies, and cutting them off from the US-denominated financial system.