House panel steps up Webull probe over 393 cases on Oct 9

Thailand’s House Committee on the Prevention and Suppression of Money Laundering and Narcotics is stepping up its inquiry into Webull Securities (Thailand) Co Ltd over suspected laundering linked to online fraud, chairman Pitakdet Dechdecho said on October 9, 2026. Police evidence presented to the committee linked money flows from 393 reported fraud cases, involving about 58 million baht in losses, to accounts at the brokerage.

Webull told the committee that forged bank documents had escaped detection by employees, but denied that its know-your-customer (KYC) system had failed. The company said it had strengthened its checks in cooperation with police and financial institutions.

Pitakdet criticised Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), accusing the regulator of failing to take a clear position on action against Webull despite evidence gathered by Muang Pathum Thani Police Station and arrest warrants for individuals involved in the case.

Pitakdet told Nation that he was closely monitoring the SEC’s response. Police had pursued individuals, he said, but there had been no progress on action against the securities company, while investigators were seeking prosecutors’ and the SEC’s views.

“The SEC has not yet replied. Next week I will write to the SEC again to press for action,” Pitakdet said on October 9.
Thai panel to review allegations over Webull’s China links

Pitakdet said the Thai committee would examine US reporting alleging links between Webull’s parent company and the Chinese government, including concerns about customer data and possible implications for clients in Thailand.

Pitakdet said he would first discuss the allegations with the committee’s screening group to establish their relevance and whether members of the public had suffered harm. If the matter fell within the committee’s remit, those concerned would be summoned to explain.

In its response to the US House select committee’s report, Webull said the findings relied on an incomplete record and contained factual errors. The company said US customer data was stored in the United States and employees in China could not access sensitive US customer information.

Pitakdet also pledged to accelerate examination of earlier reports about groups transferring money into Webull accounts, amid concerns that weaknesses in transaction checks could have enabled illicit funds to pass through the brokerage.

Pitakdet presses SEC for a decision on Webull

Pitakdet accused the SEC of delaying the Webull case through indecision. He said he had already pressed Muang Pathum Thani police to refer the outstanding matters to prosecutors for advice.

“The problem lies with the SEC. It will not make a clear decision on what to do about Webull,” Pitakdet said. “If the facts establish wrongdoing connected to the company in its capacity as a securities broker, and that Webull employees acted in that way, the SEC must make a clear decision, whether the accounts are in the first, second or third tier. Yet the SEC has never been willing to make a clear decision.”

Pitakdet said the SEC should use sanctions, warnings or preventive measures where warranted to maintain transparency in the financial system. He described its handling of the matter as lax.

Pitakdet said the committee’s screening group would meet during the week beginning October 12 to set out the sequence for calling Webull representatives and relevant state agencies to give evidence.

Police trace alleged scam proceeds through Webull accounts

A Pathum Thani Provincial Police report dated July 10, 2026, submitted to the committee described a call-centre scam in which criminals impersonating police and bank staff persuaded victims to transfer a total of 1,406,000 baht.

Investigators traced 30,000 baht to a bank account held by a suspect named Thanakrit, who also had a Webull securities account. According to the police account, the money was deposited into his trading portfolio before being withdrawn to three bank accounts belonging to other people.

Police said the account-linking process had been circumvented using altered images of other people’s bank passbooks, with the account-holder names changed to Thanakrit’s name.

Webull employees told investigators that, at the time, staff manually checked uploaded passbook images and approved account links when the displayed name matched the trading-account holder’s name. Multiple forged documents were discovered subsequently.

Muang Pathum Thani investigators sought a legal opinion from the Pathum Thani Provincial Public Prosecutor’s Office. Prosecutors advised that charges required clear evidence of a person’s participation in an offence; where that evidence was insufficient, investigators should gather more or refer the matter to the regulator.

Police were coordinating interviews with SEC officials about supervisory requirements and risk controls to assess whether Webull’s conduct constituted a criminal offence or a breach of regulatory requirements.

Nation TV’s review of the committee’s fifth meeting on June 11, 2026, and eighth meeting on July 2 found evidence presented by the Central Investigation Bureau and the Royal Thai Police’s online fraud prevention centre.

Police representatives said their analysis of cases from October–November 2025 identified 393 online fraud complaints with money flows linked to Webull accounts, involving losses of about 58 million baht. A further seven cases involving more than 2.3 million baht were subsequently identified. Nation TV described the combined losses as nearly 60 million baht.

Police told the committee that criminals used securities firms’ omnibus accounts as temporary holding points for money. These accounts pool transactions from many clients, making it difficult to freeze an entire account without affecting legitimate investors.

Police identified two alleged weaknesses in the arrangements operating at the time:

1. Customer and bank-account verification: The KYC process did not fully establish that the applicant’s name matched the actual owner of the linked bank account.

2. Same-day deposits and withdrawals: Customers could deposit and withdraw funds within the same day, allowing suspected proceeds to move quickly. Police contrasted this with the T+2 cycle for settling securities trades, meaning two business days after a trade.

Webull disputes KYC failure and says safeguards have improved

Webull representatives told the committee that the incident reflected operational risk arising from employees’ failure to detect altered passbook documents, rather than a failure of its KYC system.

Webull said it operated lawfully under a Ministry of Finance licence and belonged to a group listed on the US Nasdaq exchange. Its representatives cited identity-verification systems including National Digital ID (NDID), ThaID and screening against the international World-Check database.

Webull denied accepting cash deposits or operating like a commercial bank, saying its transactions were conducted digitally through dynamic QR codes. The company said cooperation with police and financial institutions had strengthened verification to the point that such misuse of its channels had become rare.

An SEC representative told the committee that the regulator had ordered Webull to improve its checks and introduce withdrawal holding periods for transactions displaying risk indicators.

The SEC representative said the regulator was examining Webull’s transactions and compliance with KYC and customer due diligence requirements. The target review period had been shortened from the usual six months to four months.

A representative of the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) said the agency was preparing an on-site inspection of Webull’s compliance with anti-money-laundering law. The representative cited possible administrative fines of up to 1 million baht, plus daily fines of up to 10,000 baht, if breaches were found.

The AMLO representative also cited Section 8/10 of the emergency decree on measures to prevent and suppress technological crime, introduced by the 2025 amendment. The provision requires financial institutions and relevant businesses to share responsibility for losses unless they can demonstrate compliance with the prescribed preventive standards or measures.
The AMLO representative said victims could submit claims seeking the return of recovered funds within 90 days of the publication of the relevant account details in the Royal Gazette.

At the committee’s July 2 meeting, Webull requested that its appearance be postponed until July 17, 2026, or later. The committee instructed the regulatory agencies to pursue cases and enforce the applicable legal measures fully.