People’s Party vows to set up ‘data bureau’ to wipe out grey capital

AI-powered bureau to target money-laundering networks

People’s Party leader Natthaphong Ruengpanyawut vowed on Wednesday to set up a new “data bureau” that would use artificial intelligence (AI) to flag suspicious business activity and so-called “grey capital”, arguing it would stop Thailand becoming a money-laundering hub for online scammers.

Proposal floated by three major business groups

Natthaphong said that if the People’s Party wins the February 8, 2026 election, its government would adopt a proposal floated by three major business organisations—the Thai Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Bankers’ Association—to use AI to monitor suspicious asset ownership.

He said the idea has been raised by the Joint Standing Committee on Commerce, Industry and Banking, but has not been implemented due to a lack of political will.

How the system would detect hidden income

As an example, Natthaphong said an individual might declare income of 40,000 baht to the Revenue Department and to a financial institution, while concealing millions of baht earned through gold trading.

He said AI tools deployed by the proposed data bureau would be able to detect such discrepancies between declared income and financial behaviour.

“The data bureau will become an important tool for a People’s Party government to suppress money laundering linked to grey capital and online scammers,” he said.

Linking transaction data across agencies

Natthaphong said the bureau would consolidate information from different types of transactions that are currently not tracked comprehensively, and would link data held by multiple agencies into a single database.

He said the party would also step up crackdowns on money laundering, curb the opening of mule accounts, and prevent foreign businesses from using Thai nominees to take advantage of Thai SMEs.

“Follow every baht” and seize assets at the source

“With a Data Bureau, we will be able to build a financial map that traces every baht and satang of illicit ‘grey money’ circulating in Thailand right back to its source,” Natthaphong said.

“When it comes time to freeze and seize assets, we can uproot the entire network in one sweep—wiping out scammer gangs at the nest and reaching the masterminds, not just the low-level runners.”

“Where there is ‘orange’, there will be no ‘grey’. Thailand will no longer be a money-laundering hub for scammers,” he said, referring to his party’s colour and “grey capital”.