Wan seeks international backing to tackle fraud

Plans to submit draft resolution in Geneva

Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha
Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha

Thailand will propose a draft resolution on combating global scammers as an emergency item at the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) assembly, seeking international cooperation to tackle rising cross-border fraud.

A Thai parliamentary delegation, led by Parliament President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, has left for the 151st IPU Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, that began on Saturday and runs for a week until next Saturday.

The meeting brings together parliamentarians from 181 member countries under the theme of “Upholding humanitarian norms and supporting humanitarian action in times of crisis”.

In addition to the regular agenda and pre-drafted resolutions, each IPU assembly may also consider an “emergency item” — an urgent and significant international issue that has arisen recently and requires an immediate global attention and response.

If deemed appropriate, such an item could be added to the agenda to allow parliaments to collectively respond.

For this session, the Thai delegation has confirmed its intention to propose a draft resolution on addressing the global scammer crisis, an issue of growing international concern due to the severe and widespread damage to victims and economies across all regions.

The Thai proposal seeks to designate this resolution as an emergency item, Mr Wan said. However, for the item to be accepted onto the agenda, it must receive the support of at least two-thirds of the member parliaments, he said.

Before departing from Suvarnabhumi international airport, Mr Wan said the persistent and increasingly damaging issue of international scam networks has prompted Thailand to table this resolution.

He said transnational scam operations have used Thailand as a transit point to smuggle victims into so-called “scam centres” in neighbouring countries. These nations lack direct international flight connections, forcing traffickers to go through Thai territory, he added.

This, in turn, has tarnished Thailand’s international image and harmed impacted its tourism industry.

The government has since taken decisive action, reducing the use of Thailand as a transit route — particularly via Mae Sot district in Tak province, which borders Myanmar, he said.

However, scam operations continue, shifting their bases to other neighbouring countries, Mr Wan said.

Currently, major scam networks in Southeast Asia face growing global pressure as their activities are exposed, including the United States, the United Kingdom and South Korea, he said.

Meanwhile, Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction Plc has issued a clarification in response to reports that Prince Group, linked to the scammers in some reports, uses a Sino-Thai Tower address.

Thai authorities have launched a probe into a transnational scam network linked to Chen Zhi, the British-Cambodian businessman behind Prince Holding Group (Prince Group).

The investigation follows asset seizures by both the United States and the United Kingdom, after Mr Chen was charged with fraud and running international scams.

Sino-Thai Engineering and Construction Plc said its subsidiary HTR Co manages Sino-Thai Tower and leases its premises lawfully. Prince International Co rents the 7th floor (Oct 2023–Sept 2026) for real estate brokerage. STEC denies any involvement in fraud or corruption.

Source – Bangkok News