BOT rebuts People’s Party, says THB160 billion cash spike not vote-buying
Bank of Thailand said the September 2025 cash withdrawal spike was driven by mule-account clampdown fears, not vote-buying. It added that payments returned to normal from October and that it is monitoring cash demand ahead of the election.
- The Bank of Thailand (BOT) refuted the People’s Party’s allegations that a THB160 billion cash withdrawal spike was related to vote-buying.
- The BOT attributed the high withdrawals to public concern over a crackdown on "mule accounts," which prompted people to hold physical cash instead of using online accounts.
- The central bank clarified that the situation was short-lived, with payment patterns returning to normal the following month.
- In preparation for the upcoming election, the BOT is closely monitoring cash demand and coordinating with commercial banks to report any abnormal withdrawals.
Following claims by the “orange” People’s Party, in which party-list candidate Chaiwat Sathawornwichit alleged that cash withdrawals totalled THB160.816 billion in the four months before the election, THB127.010 billion in September 2025 alone, the highest monthly figure on record despite moves towards a cashless society, warning of potential vote-buying and urging the public not to allow their opportunities to be “stolen”.
At around 5pm on Sunday (January 11), the Bank of Thailand (BOT) posted a clarification, saying the unusually high cash withdrawals in September 2025 resulted from public concern about an expanded crackdown on mule accounts, prompting people to withdraw cash to keep and spend instead of making transactions through online accounts.
The BOT said more merchants also shifted to accepting cash payments.
It said the situation was short-lived, and payments returned to normal from October.
Regarding possible unusual increases in cash demand ahead of the upcoming election, the BOT said it is closely monitoring developments and will manage cash reserves at levels close to the same period last year to meet genuine public spending needs, including the normal rise around Chinese New Year.
It added that it has coordinated with commercial banks to strictly monitor abnormal cash withdrawals and report them to the BOT.
