NovThailand News
Thailand's new scam-victim refund process is now in force
What changed on 12 August
The regulation was published earlier in 2026 and took effect on 12 August after its statutory waiting period. It applies to funds held in bank accounts and electronic-money accounts, as well as digital assets in wallets, when those assets have been seized, frozen or made subject to a transaction suspension under Thailand's technology-crime framework.
The practical change is procedural. Instead of every refund having to wait for a separate court order at this stage, AMLO can examine the evidence and put the case before the relevant Transaction Committee for a refund decision. Checks on the money trail, the victim's claim and any competing objection remain part of the process.
For someone living in Thailand and using local financial services, the key point is that the regulation creates a more direct route for money that authorities have already managed to preserve. It does not guarantee that money which has already disappeared from the traceable chain will be reimbursed.
The 90-day window starts with a specific notice
AMLO is required to publish details of relevant deposit accounts, electronic-money accounts or digital-asset wallets through the Royal Gazette and its own official communications. Victims then have 90 days from the relevant publication to submit a claim with supporting evidence. Where AMLO can clearly identify a victim, the office may also notify that person directly.
A claim must identify the victim, the loss, the amount or digital assets being requested and the intended return channel. Supporting evidence can include a police complaint, including an electronic complaint, or a court judgment connected with the technology-crime case. Account holders and other affected parties can also object within the prescribed period if they say the frozen assets are not connected with the offence.
AMLO reviews the material before the case goes to the Transaction Committee. Where the money trail clearly identifies funds belonging to a particular victim, the committee can order their return. If funds from different transactions have been mixed and cannot be allocated precisely, the rules allow a proportional repayment approach based on verified losses.
Why this is not an automatic refund
The mechanism only reaches assets that authorities have located and kept under seizure, freezing or transaction suspension. If the money has already left the recoverable chain, the regulation does not itself create a compensation fund to replace the loss. Disputed ownership, incomplete evidence or the need for additional verification can also delay or prevent a refund.
AMLO has also warned that it does not charge victims a fee to apply for a refund and does not accept refund registrations through social-media pages. The authorised routes include filing in person, registered post and an electronic channel specified by AMLO in the relevant notice. A victim should not wait for a Gazette notice before reporting a fresh fraud: AMLO's guidance is to preserve the evidence and report the offence promptly through the proper police channel.
A later development does not change the August rule. On 16 September, the government announced work on four connected national anti-fraud systems intended to unify reporting, risk data, fund tracing and faster freezing. The design work was still under way, so the wider operational infrastructure remains a work in progress even though the refund regulation itself is already in force.
Sources
- Royal Gazette of Thailand — Ministerial Regulation on Returning Money to Victims of Technology Crime — May 2026.
- Royal Thai Government / Ministry of Digital Economy and Society — clarification on the 12 August effective date — 10 August 2026.
- Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) — clarification of the refund procedure — 11 August 2026.
- Ministry of Digital Economy and Society — official filing channels and warning about fake refund pages — 14 August 2026.
- Royal Thai Government — four-system national anti-fraud initiative — 16 September 2026.