Thailand cabinet backs reforms targeting digital asset and market crimes
Key Takeaways
- •Thailand's cabinet approved amendments to four laws covering securities, capital markets and digital assets to expand the SEC's investigative powers.
- •The reforms would allow SEC officials to investigate serious offenses jointly with police, whereas current rules require such cases to be transferred to police, where investigations can take more than two years.
- •SEC Secretary-General Pornanong Budsaratragoon said the changes would let authorities combine resources and expertise while strengthening supervision of auditors and financial advisers.
- •The legislation follows an emergency decree passed in March 2025 that expanded the SEC's authority amid scandals at Stark Corp. and Energy Absolute.
- •The bill will be submitted to parliament for approval and is expected to take effect in 2027.
Thailand is moving to give its market regulator greater powers to investigate financial crimes as authorities seek to restore confidence shaken by major corporate scandals.
The cabinet on Tuesday approved amendments to four laws covering securities, capital markets and digital assets, which would enable SEC officials to work alongside police on serious offenses.
Under current rules, cases involving suspected insider trading, market manipulation and corporate fraud must be handed to police, where investigations can take more than two years. SEC Secretary-General Pornanong Budsaratragoon said the proposed changes would allow authorities to combine their resources and expertise, while also strengthening supervision of auditors and financial advisers, a shift that could matter for a market still dealing with the fallout from high-profile company cases and scrutiny of gatekeepers.
The legislation follows an emergency decree passed in March 2025 that expanded the SEC’s authority amid scandals at Stark Corp. and Energy Absolute. It will be submitted to parliament for approval and is expected to take effect in 2027, giving lawmakers and market participants a longer runway before the new enforcement framework is in place.
