Thai deputy finance chief quits over alleged Cambodia scam links

By Saadet Gokce and Islamuddin Sajid

ISTANBUL / ISLAMABAD (AA) - Thailand’s Deputy Finance Minister Vorapak Tanyawong announced his resignation Wednesday on the US social media company X after media reports alleged he and his wife were linked to scam operations in Cambodia.

Vorapak dismissed the allegations as “slander,” saying his wife was also accused of accepting bribes in cryptocurrency but “has never been involved” and does not hold any crypto accounts.

The claims first appeared Tuesday in Project Brazen’s Whale Hunting newsletter, which reported that Vorapak’s wife allegedly received $3 million in cryptocurrency from criminal networks in Cambodia, citing corporate filings in Singapore. The report also said Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul had appointed Vorapak to a special government committee investigating the same networks, a claim later denied by Anutin.

Separately, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) said between 1,000 and 2,000 South Korean nationals are believed to be involved in scam operations in Cambodia, where job fraud schemes have led to abductions and detentions of South Korean citizens, according to Yonhap News Agency.

During a briefing to lawmakers Wednesday, the NIS said Cambodian authorities arrested 3,075 suspects linked to such scams between June and July this year, including 57 South Koreans.

On Tuesday, President Lee Jae Myung ordered stronger measures against international internet phishing networks and urged authorities to devise an “extraordinary” government response rather than rely on conventional methods.