Thailand’s Deputy Finance Minister Resigns Amid Allegations of Ties to Cambodia-Based Cyber Scam Networks

Bangkok, Oct 2025 : Thailand’s Deputy Finance Minister Vorapak Tanyawong resigned on Wednesday following allegations linking him to Cambodia-based cyber scam operations, officials said.

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul had earlier this week directed Vorapak, a veteran financier who took office only last month, to submit a written explanation addressing the accusations.

Vorapak came under public scrutiny after an investigative report alleged his connection to a foreign fraudster tied to cross-border scam networks operating out of Cambodia. The “Whale Hunting” newsletter claimed that Vorapak’s wife received $3 million in cryptocurrency earlier this year from Chinese-Cambodian criminal syndicates — the same groups he was reportedly assigned to investigate as part of a government anti-fraud committee.

The publication further alleged that Vorapak was previously listed as an adviser to BIC Bank, a Cambodian financial institution accused of facilitating money-laundering operations.

Denying any wrongdoing, Vorapak announced his resignation at a news conference, saying he needed time to prepare 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 reporters on Wednesday.

Before entering politics last year, Vorapak spent decades in Thailand’s private financial sector, holding senior positions with leading international banks, including Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase. He later served as an adviser to the then-Finance Minister before being appointed deputy minister in the new administration.

While corruption scandals are not uncommon in Thailand, cases implicating top officials in the region’s booming multibillion-dollar cyber scam industry are relatively rare. Southeast Asia has become a hub for such criminal enterprises, often run from compounds in Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos, and fueled by transnational organized crime groups.

Vorapak’s resignation marks the first major political setback for Prime Minister Anutin’s administration since taking office, underscoring growing concerns over the influence of illicit networks in regional finance and governance.

Team Maverick.